Winter Is Coming: The 20th Hunger Games
by Grand Coconut
Summary: 24 go in, 1 comes out. Yeeeaahh i'll put a better description in later. i'm late for school.
1. The Tributes

The Head Gamemaker looked down at the list of tributes' names printed onto the piece of paper in his hands.

**District 1 [Luxury]**  
M: Obsidian (Sid) Haze (18)  
F: Siren Noria (18)

**District 2 [Masonry]**  
M: Barnabas Salt (18)  
F: Nectar Johnson (17)

**District 3 [Technology]**  
M: Jim Pisces (17)  
F: Genesis Fuse (16)

**District 4 [Fishing]**  
M: Julius Osman (17)  
F: Aura Cruz (15)

**District 5 [Power]**  
M: Blue DeBuhr (15)  
F: Scarlet Hanson (15)

**District 6 [Transportation]**  
M: Joel Perona (17)  
F: Bean Botonis (13)

**District 7 [Lumber]**  
M: Lolium King (14)  
F: Opal Palais (17)

**District 8 [Textiles]**  
M: Oliver Abel (15)  
F: Piper Rosenthal (16)

**District 9 [Grain]**  
M: Nan Padilla (12)  
F: Sawyer Ambrose (14)

**District 10 [Livestock]**  
M: Hopper Garcia (16)  
F: Orchid Raleigh (17)

**District 11 [Agriculture]**  
M: Preston Faucette (17)  
F: Lolita Aranguren (16)

**District 12 [Coal Mining]**  
M: Milo Brooks (17)  
F: Noel Scullark (12)

**A/N: i added some text to this chapter, so all you illegal chapter vultures can calm down now. but anywaaays, i'm back! (quick note: this is the sequel to my previous story, the 19th hunger games. if you haven't read that one yet, i totally recommend you read it first before diving into this one because there will be references from last year's games and i'd hate to spoil it for you.)**

**anyways, last year was a warmup. this is the story i've been waiting to write. i think this one is going to be more survival themed and nature-esque than the 19th, just to give you an idea.. i can't wait to hear your reactions/thoughts/blah blah blah when the chapters go up and i'm so excited to take you guys on this crazy journey with 24 brand new tributes.**

**let's get it crackin woooo!**


	2. District One: Back In Black

The nine o'clock bell rang and girls in brightly colored dresses poured out of the bathrooms, talking about hair and boys. Siren wasn't among their ranks of course. She had never associated herself with the other girls. She knew their type. Prissy girls like that only gossiped and filled each other's heads with lies about the person sitting next to them. They thrived off drama and always had to run in packs.

Girls like that never liked Siren either. And they were about to hate her even more because she had just been chosen to volunteer for the Twentieth Hunger Games.

It was a prestigious honor, the position she was given. The founding father of the academy, Maximilian Santiago, liked how she didn't roll with a group during training and her skills with a javelin outshone any other competitor. Plus, her bombshell looks would surely be a hit with the sponsors. Everyone knew that the capitol loved a gorgeous blonde from District One.

She was the perfect volunteer in Maximilian's eyes and whatever the man said went.

As the last of the popular girls spilled out of the bathroom, Siren brushed off her short white dress and walked into the bathroom. She gazed at herself in the mirror and smiled. Everything about her looked perfect, as it usually did.

Her long blonde hair was done in a loose wavy updo. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched and every bit of makeup was blended to perfection.

She tapped her long red nails on the porcelain sink as she thought about what was going to happen in the next few hours. Herself and Obsidian would volunteer at the reaping and then be taken to the capitol by train. She hadn't decided on her angle for the interview yet, but she was leaning towards lethal. Every District One girl always tried to be sexy, but Siren didn't want to blend in with them.

That blonde bimbo Velvet had done that last year and it obviously didn't do miracles for her. She _did_ make it to the final three, but in the end, she died one of the most painful deaths of them all.

Siren didn't feel bad for her. Velvet had been one of the girls that scoffed at her all the time when she trained at the academy. She remembered when Velvet died. All the girls in the academy were crying their eyes out and having memorials for her, but Siren just laughed. Velvet was a shallow girl and she got what was coming for her.

Siren was especially glad that Kramer won though. He was an outcast too before he was crowned victor and now all of his haters were at his feet, begging just to take a picture with him. It was so inspiring the way he went from a social reject to one of the most famous victors of District One. Siren wanted that. She needed that. It proved that anything could happen.

As she walked out the door, Siren caught the eye of a few of her jealous classmates and held her head even higher. No one would be getting to her. Nope, not today. She was the star of the show this time. Not them.

As she walked out of the Academy's front entrance, she could see that kids were already filing into the reaping pens in the town square. With a flip of her hair, she followed, ready to get it started.

* * *

"Eyes on the enemy, Haze!"

Sid wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and got back into a fighting stance. His opponent swung, but Sid quickly jerked out of the way, causing the boy to catch a fistful of air. A burst of adrenaline surged through his chest at the close call, scaring him into taking action immediately. Sid sent his fist flying in his opponent's direction, but he should have known better. The boy quickly caught Sid's closed fist in his hand and twisted his arm behind his back within a second.

Sharp discomfort made Sid squirm under the pressure of the other boy's strong grip. He tried to free himself, but panic surged through his heart, making it difficult to formulate a strategy on the spot. There was only one thing left to do.

"Stop! Let go, let go!" Sid cried out in desperation.

The trainer blew his whistle and his opponent chuckled from behind him as he released him. "I win."

The second he was freed, Sid whipped his arm away from the boy and instantly began to rub the pain out of it. Mumbling under his breath, Sid winced when he hit the sore spot on his arm. This was probably going to bruise.

"Good game, Sid. You really know how to put up a fight." The blonde boy, Elliot, snickered.

Sid's wide eyes met Elliot's blue ones, ignoring his jab. "Did you really have to go so hard on me? You know I suck at hand to hand combat." He let his arm fall limp by his side. "Trying to beat me up right before the games..."

Elliot let out a laugh and smiled widely. "Nah man, just trying to prepare you." He assured as he slung an arm over his best friend's shoulder. "All victors are prepared."

"And he's gonna need all the preparation he can get." A new voice said, followed with the sound of quick paced footsteps. Sid and Elliot looked up simultaneously to see the trainer, Tyson, jogging towards them.

Sid rolled his eyes and looked down at his arm. "Yeah because I'm so unprepared, Ty." He mumbled sarcastically. "That's why I was chosen to volunteer."

Tyson let out a short laugh. "Sid, I hate to break it to you, but if _that_ was only fight I'd ever seen from you, I would be thinking to myself 'what the _hell _were they thinking when they chose this boy to volunteer?'" Tyson said dramatically, causing Sid to set his jaw in annoyance. "I know you better than that though, kid. But even as good as you are with that bow and arrow, if you find yourself in a fist to fist brawl in the arena, you're gonna have the lower hand if you keep psyching yourself out like that."

"That's why he's only gonna kill from afar, right Sid?" Elliot said, lightening up the mood. "You make it sound like he's doomed, Ty. Sorry, but have you _seen_ him with a bow and arrow? He's a prodigy!" Elliot said as he slammed his hand on his buddy's back supportively.

Tyson nodded. "I have indeed. And you're right, Elliot, he is one of the best we've ever had, but it wouldn't hurt to pick up a few fighting skills."

"I get nervous around close contact, sorry. I mean, I know it. You don't have to keep reminding me." Sid sighed.

He was very aware how uncomfortable he got when people invaded his personal space. It had always been an issue, even when he was a little kid. This was the main reason he was usually so aloof around his peers. His claustrophobia was both a physical and emotional thing. He didn't like to get very close to people on a personal level either, even if they did interest him. He usually just observed them from afar. Elliot was actually one of the only people that bothered to pursure Sid's friendship

Tyson eyed Sid sympathetically and sighed. "We're on your side, Sid. I know I'm tough on you, but it's only because I believe in you." He said as he patted Sid's shoulder. "Cliche? Yes. But it's true."

Sid shrugged and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, I know. And I do appreciate that." He said sincerely. "I know how hard you worked to get me that spot as the volunteer, Ty." He added. "Thank you."

Ty smiled wryly, causing his eyes to crinkle up. "People like you don't come along every day, kid. You've got something special."

Sid cracked a small smile at that.

Just then, the nine o'clock bell rang throughout the academy, signaling the reaping. As the other trainees filed out of the training center one by one, Elliot bounced on the balls of his feet. "Well, it's time!" He said enthusiastically. "We'll see you soon, Ty. You ready, Sid?" He elbowed his friend.

Sid nodded. "Yep. We'll see you at the reaping, Ty. Thanks again for everything." He said with genuine thankfulness.

Ty returned the smile as Elliot and Sid turned on their heels and followed the other kids out of the training center.

* * *

After Siren checked in and got her finger pricked, she swiftly made her way towards the front of the eighteen year old's section. She felt several pairs of eyes fall on her as she shouldered past her classmates, and it made her feel even better. Every girl in the district wished they were her right now.

As the escort tapped on the microphone, Siren perked up and brought her eyes to the stage.

The escort, Arietty, was draped in an ivory Grecian dress this year that sparkled with tiny crystals. Her pastel blue hair was done in a loose curly updo that framed her face wonderfully. Little pale gems were placed along her jawline and cheekbones as well. Siren found herself liking everything she saw, surprisingly. She usually thought the capitolites had the gaudiest taste in fashion.

"Good morning, District One!" Arietty sang into the microphone. "Last year was one of the most phenomenal games we have ever had, and we were blessed with another unforgettable victor!" Arietty smiled as she swept her arm in the direction of Lucius Kramer, who was sitting towards the back of the stage alongside the other victors.

He looked as amazing and powerful as ever. He had a new, shorter haircut that was spiked a bit towards the front, but he still rocked his signature crimson color. The crowd roared in applause as Kramer waved to them rather lazily. Arietty turned back towards the microphone. "Let's make it happen again, District One!" She exclaimed, getting the crowd excited.

"Well first things first, let's start with the ladies." Arietty smiled as she walked towards the girls' bowl. She drew a single slip off of the top and Siren felt her muscles tense up. It was finally about to happen. Her moment was here.

"Magnolia Grant."

The tension rose in the crowd for a split second before it was broken by a single voice.

"I volunteer!" Siren called out in response. She emerged quickly and gracefully from the eighteen year old's section. She felt the cameras zoom in on her and she smiled at one of them as she walked onto the stage.

"Amazing, we have a volunteer!" Arietty exclaimed. She held out the microphone to Siren as she crossed the gap. "What is your name, dear?"

Siren accepted the microphone from the escort with a smile. "Siren Noria." She said clearly as she looked out into the crowd with confidence.

"Well congratulations, Miss Noria, and best of luck! Are you ready to meet your district partner?" Arietty asked excitedly.

Siren nodded and laughed lightly. "Of course."

Arietty nodded with a grin and walked over towards the boy's bowl. She dipped her hand in and took out one single slip.

"Oscar Lombardi." She announced.

"I volunteer." A simple voice responded on queue.

Siren saw some movement in the eighteen year old's section and her eyes landed on a lithe boy swiftly making his way through the crowd. As he entered the isle, he walked to the stage coolly and calmly. He had shiny black hair and slanted grey eyes.

His face was recognizable right off the bat. Siren knew him. A lot of people did. He was the half Asian kid who was a legend with the bow and arrow.

"And what is your name, sir?" Arietty asked curiously as he walked up the steps.

The boy took the microphone from her outstretched hand and spoke. "Obsidian Haze, but you can just call me Sid if you'd like." He said with a soft nod as he handed it back to her.

"Of course." Arietty grinned as she turned back towards the crowd. "Well, District One, here are your tributes!" She exclaimed as she swept her hands out in the direction of the two volunteers. "Let's have another winning year!"

The whole district burst into a round of applause and Sid and Siren clapped along with them. They were both determined to bring the prize back to District One.

* * *

Siren followed the peacekeeper down a short hallway in the justice building. Everything about the justice building was luxurious, from the plush red carpets to the little gold decorations on the walls. It must have cost a fortune to build.

Siren continued to follow the peacekeeper until they reached a single door at the end of the hall.

"Here we are, miss." He said as he opened the door to her goodbye room. "This is where you will say your farewells."

Siren stepped inside the room and looked around. "Thank you." She said politely to the peacekeeper, smiling in his direction.

He nodded in response and closed the door, leaving her to herself.

The room was very simple and clean. The furniture was white and gold and there was a large aquarium on the right side of the room. Siren glanced at the fish and watched them swim around. They were bright and exotic. She wondered what kind they were.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The door swung open and her younger sister, Irene, entered the room all alone. Siren was instantly elated to see her and a smile stretched across her face.

Irene was sixteen years old and the spitting image of her sister.

Despite being related though, Irene had a pretty different life. Instead of training at the academy like she did, Irene attended normal high school and lived at home with their parents. Due to the distance between the academy and their house, it had been a while since they had last seen each other.

"Well first of all, congratulations." Irene said with a smile as she embraced her in a hug. "I know how hard you've worked for this."

As she let go, Siren stepped backwards. "Thanks. How did I do?" She asked with a light smile.

Irene nodded. "Fantastic. I think the capitol is going to like you a lot!" She said truthfully, making Siren smile even wider.

"That's what I was hoping for. Hey wait- where are mom and dad? Didn't they come with you?" Siren asked, changing the subject as the thought crossed her mind.

Irene sighed and looked down. "No, they couldn't make it."

Siren frowned and slumped her shoulders. "Are you serious?" She said, feeling very let down. Her parents hadn't made an attempt to see her in nearly a year. Most kids parents came to visit them at the academy every weekend or so. Siren's parents didn't even come to say goodbye to her before she was shipped off to the Hunger Games. It just proved that they really didn't care at all.

Irene shook her head. "You know how they are. They've always been...busy." She reminded her.

Siren nodded and let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know." She drawled. "I guess I just hoped they would show up."

"Hey, cheer up. You've still got me." Irene said, trying to stay positive.

Siren looked up and smiled a little bit, remembering that she should be thankful that at least her sister came to say goodbye. "Yeah. Thanks for coming to see me off." She said, a sad smile on her face.

Irene shrugged and smiled smugly. "No problem. Now let's talk Hunger Games." She said, getting right down to business.

The two spoke about strategy and her odds of winning for the last few minutes before a peacekeeper opened the door and told Irene it was time for her to go. Siren hugged her sister one last time and watched as she left out the door.

In Siren's mind, one thing was for sure. If she did win, Irene would be the first person she shared her fortune with.

* * *

"Dude, I am so excited for you!" Elliot exclaimed as he shook his friend by the shoulders. "I can't wait to see you on TV."

Tyson, along with Sid's parents had already come to wish him good luck, and now it was Elliot's turn. He wasn't expecting any more guests, so his best friend would be his last goodbye.

"I wonder who the other careers will be this year. Siren is freakin' hot, so I'm glad you got paired up with her. District Two is usually really strong too-" Elliot continued to talk, but Sid quit paying attention. Elliot had been going on and on about the games for a solid two minutes now and he was beginning to repeat himself.

Sid's mind drifted back to what Tyson had said when he came to visit him a few minutes ago. He had told him to "play the game". Sid wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but he guessed he would find out. It was something that he would definitely keep in mind.

Sid was brought out of his thoughts when the door opened. A peacekeeper stood in the doorframe and told Elliot that his time was up.

"Aw man, already?" Elliot asked sadly.

The peacekeeper nodded in response and motioned him to get going.

Elliot turned towards his friend and hugged him one last time, cherishing their last moments together. He slammed his hand on Sid's back as he let go of him. "You better not go dyin' on me, Sid." Elliot said as he turned towards the door.

Sid laughed lightly, trying to hide his nerves. "I'll try not to."

Elliot smiled from over his shoulder. "Good. I'll see you soon then." He replied with a final wave goodbye.

Sid waved back. "See you soon, Elliot."

As the peacekeeper closed the door behind him, Sid felt his heart sink a little. He hoped he would be able to keep his promise to Elliot. He wanted to come back home too.

* * *

**A/N: for the record, yes there was a victor from district one last year, but that does NOT automatically confirm siren or sid's inevitable death. if i end up wanting one of them to win, then it will happen regardless of what district they're from. and another thing, this story is only semi canon. that means that if i want a district twelve tribute to volunteer or win or whatever, then it will happen too. every single tribute has an equal shot at winning so don't count anyone out!**

**anyways, the first reaping has happened! what are your thoughts on this chapter? i'm excited to hear what you think, good or bad. i'm gonna post the next chapter soon so the wait won't be long at all. district two is up next!**


	3. District Two: Coldblooded

District Two usually produced some of the best, most viciously trained careers the Hunger Games ever got their hands on. The volunteers were trained from early childhood on to the ages of either seventeen or eighteen, then the cream of the crop were chosen from the graduating class to become the volunteer for that year. District One had a system very similar to this, only the training regimes over there were much more lax than in District Two.

Once you were of high school age, you enrolled into the academy. The academy was very much like a college, in the aspects that students lived in dorms and the classes and were located around the campus. If you made it to graduation and you weren't chosen to be the volunteer, you weren't out of luck. No, not even slightly. Many peacekeeper jobs were available to those who graduated from the academy. Many kids actually enrolled in the academy just for the sole purpose of becoming a peacekeeper, not a volunteer. This helped keep the illegal training of tributes before the games somewhat secret amongst the district.

Barnabas wasn't looking to become a peacekeeper though. From the minute he got into the academy, he was dead set on becoming a volunteer when he was eighteen. And after four years of ruthless training sessions, competing against his own classmates, and picking up some impressive skills with a ball and chain mace, he was finally granted his wish.

It seemed like since the day he was chosen, people started coming out of the woodwork, begging to become his new best friend. The attention was nice, but he had always known he was better than everyone else anyway. He didn't need any reassurance.

On the day of the reaping, Barnabas woke up to the feeling of his roommate shaking him awake forcefully.

"Wake up you lump, today is the day!" Micah yelled in his ear.

Barnabas groaned and smacked Micah away with one of his pillows. "Get out of my face." He slurred, half asleep.

Micah laughed and bounced on his bed. "Looks like someone partied a little too hard last night." He said playfully as he picked up the pillow and threw it right back at Barnabas.

As the pillow flew into Barnabas's face, he flinched and peeled his eyes open. "You have a death wish, don't you Micah." He slurred sleepily as he flung his covers off of him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Don't throw stuff at me." He said as he pushed Micah off of his bed.

Micah landed on the floor with a thud and it was satisfaction to Barnabas's ears. His roommate was right though, last night _had_ been wild. He had been out until nearly three in the morning at a party.

_His_ party.

Every year there was a going away party for the chosen volunteer to celebrate his success at the academy. Last year the volunteer didn't even show up though. Everyone knew Jude was way to stiff to show his face at any social gathering.

This year's party was one of the best though. Barnabas would have stayed longer, but the peacekeepers showed up and shut the thing down before it could get too out of control. He did love to have fun, but he would have to put that part of himself on hold for the duration of the games.

And just the thought of the games got Barnabas out of bed.

Today was the reaping. It was the day he had been waiting for all month, and the moment he had been waiting for all his life. He had envisioned himself volunteering a million times over, and he could already taste the victory of winning. People might say he was a typical career, but he didn't care. He liked it that way.

A lot of victors were careers.

As Barnabas rolled out of bed and got ready for the day, excitement pulsed through his veins. He could just imagine what the capitol would be like and he had been thinking about what the arena would be for ages. It was all coming up now and he was stoked.

After the two boys finished getting ready, they left their room and walked down the hallway. Immediately, people that passed by were congratulating Barnabas and wishing him luck. Barnabas didn't even spare them a second glance as he shouldered past them. His peers were below him now.

He was top dog.

* * *

Today was one of the rare occasions that Nectar wasn't training. Her typical morning routine consisted of waking up and hitting the training center before the school day started, but today she was only focused on getting all dolled up. Nectar knew that the cameras would be on her from the minute she volunteered until the minute she won the games, so looking good was crucial.

Nectar finished up her makeup with a few swipes of eyeshadow that made her brown eyes pop. She was doing a few last minute touch ups when the door flew open and her friend Hazel burst in, reminding her what time it was.

"It's almost 9:30! We're supposed to be checking in _now_!" Hazel shrieked when she found Nectar still at the vanity.

"Okay, I hear you." Nectar said as she dropped her blending brush onto the table.

Hazel shrieked something about the time one last time before she grabbed her friend's hand and rushed out the door with her.

As the two girls walked to the town square for the reaping, Hazel was rambling on and on about a boy in their class that she liked and Nectar was snickering, making fun of her love sick friend.

"-and he keeps looking at me in class, but what does that mean? I mean, it could be that he likes me too, but maybe he's just looking around the room and I'm only catching him when he looks at me. What do you th-" Hazel began.

"He's ugly, so it doesn't matter what it means." Nectar said bluntly as they approached the reaping pens.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Um, Zac is actually cute."

Nectar snorted loudly. "Yeah and pigs can fly." She scoffed as they stood in line to get their fingers pricked.

Hazel rolled her eyes again and continued to ramble on about Zac as Nectar zoned out and pretended to listen.

After they got their fingers pricked, Nectar shoved her way through the crowd to get to the front of the line. Hazel followed behind her, wanting to stand next to her friend. They made their way to the front and Nectar gazed up at the stage. The escort, Gem, was dripping in orange jewels and smiling widely at the crowd as she waited for them to quiet down. Behind her was the mayor, his wife, and the past District Two victors.

Nectar smiled. She could already see herself sitting among their ranks.

Gem tapped on the microphone and everyone quieted down. A hush fell over the crowd, but everyone was silently quivering with anticipation.

"Good morning District Two! It is an honor to be back for another year as your escort. Are we ready to chose our new tributes?" Gem grinned.

The crowd clapped and cheered in excitement.

"Fantastic! Let's switch it up and chose the boy first." Gem said as she strode over to the males' bowl. She plunged her shimmering hand into the very heart of the bowl and pulled out a single slip.

"Remus Rogue!" Gem called out.

"I volunteer." A loud, bass voice responded from the crowd on queue.

Nectar watched as a tall, tan, and muscular guy moved swiftly through the eighteen year old's section. He had dark hair, Latin features, and intense brown eyes that she recognized instantly. His named was Barnabas or something like that. He was possibly one of the cockiest, most egotistical guys to ever grace the halls of the academy.

Nectar knew his type. A brawn over brains type of guy who probably flirted with his own reflection. She was from District Two. Guys like that were around every corner!

He stepped onto the stage with a confident smile on his face and shook Gem's hand.

"What's your name?" Gem asked as she handed him the microphone.

"Barnabas Salt. Get used to this name, District Two!" He said with a grin as he gave the microphone back to her. The crowd clapped and cheered, and Barnabas's ego visibly inflated. He smiled even wider and stood taller.

"Well Barnabas, best of luck to you! Let's meet your partner!" Gem said excitedly as she crossed the gap over to the ladies' bowl. She quickly plucked a name right off the top and unfolded it. Nectar could feel a devious smirk cross her face. It was her turn.

"Alice Black!"

Nectar ducked under the ropes. "I volunteer!" She called out as she slipped under and stepped into the isle. She walked towards the stage with a smirk on her face and flipped her brown hair over her shoulder. She looked up to see Gem's face light up with elation and Barnabas looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"And what is your name?" Gem grinned as she handed her the microphone.

"My name is Nectar Johnson, and you should get used to this name too, guys." She said with a competitive edge to her voice as she gave the microphone back to Gem.

Gem clapped with a smile on her face. "Well there you have it, District Two! Your tributes for this year- Barnabas Salt and Nectar Johnson!" Gem said into the microphone. "Tributes, shake hands!"

Nectar turned to Barnabas and shook his outstretched hand with a strong grip. She looked into his eyes and saw that he, too, reflected the same aura of superiority that she did. Nectar knew that two big egos were bound to collide at some point. With a smirk, she realized that the competition was beginning.

And it was beginning right now.

* * *

After the reaping, Barnabas and Nectar were escorted off the stage and into the justice building for their farewells. The justice building in District Two was a large steel building that was kept neat and secure for occasions like this.

As Barnabas walked down the bleak hallways, the eerie silence and the cold lighting made him feel a bit nervous and out of place. He quickly shook off the feeling though as he opened the door to his goodbye room and stepped inside.

_Victors don't get nervous!_, He reminded himself as a smile stretched across his face.

He knew his visitors would be arriving soon, but he wasn't thinking about them right now. The _games_. Now that was something that got his adrenaline pumping. It had always been his goal to volunteer one day and now it was finally his reality. He smiled to himself as he replayed his volunteering stunt in his head over again. He was sure people in the capitol would like him. He was strong and handsome, so the ladies would love him. He was also intimidating and dangerous, so he assumed the men would love him too. His first appearance had been a success!

Barnabas felt elated with excitement as the door opened and his friends came pouring in. There were a lot of them and they were all muscular jocks just like him. Barnabas was a pretty popular guy, so he expected a lot of visitors. Their smiles and words of encouragement made him feel good as they came in the room. Barnabas puffed his chest out with pride as he bathed in the glory of being a volunteer. He knew all his friends secretly wanted his position, but they weren't as lucky as him. No one was as lucky as _him_.

"Just soak it in, man." Micah smiled as he slammed his hand on his friend's back. "Don't let all the fame get to your head though. That massive ego of yours just might end up getting you killed."

Barnabas snorted. "I'd love to see anyone try to kill _me._" He said confidently as Micah raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm the strongest one in this thing."

A few of his friends laughed. "Yeah. we'll see about that." Another guy said teasingly.

Barnabas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we _will_." He said with an edge to his voice as a cocky smirk crossed his face.

After his friends finished congratulating him, they filed out of the room and Barnabas was left alone with his own thoughts once again. Nothing could dampen his mood today. Even with a huge ego, he was still the best tribute that the games had ever seen. No one would outdo him.

* * *

Nectar's older brother was the first to visit her. She wasn't expecting him to come and see her at all today because he was a peacekeeper and he was usually traveling a lot from district to district, crushing rebellions and keeping people in line for most of the year. When he opened the door and burst into the room, Nectar was thrilled with excitement.

He had the same brown eyes, freckles, and pale skin that she had.

Her brother cracked a huge smile as Nectar ran into his arms. "When I heard you were volunteering, I went right to my boss and said "Boss, I've gotta take off work on the 19th to come see my little sister volunteer in District Two.' I wouldn't take no for an answer. Today is the biggest day of your life! I had to come see you!" Her older brother grinned as Nectar hugged him tight.

He wore his white peacekeeper suit and smelled like latex and expensive cologne. Nectar reveled in his scent as she held onto her brother tight. She barely ever saw him these days, so every reunion was a big deal. She wished he was around more, but maybe it was for the best. She didn't really want him to know about her violent tendencies that had developed in the past few years. It wasn't a very pleasant thing to talk about.

"I'm gonna make everyone proud in there." Nectar grinned as she broke away from him. "I've been training for years. It's all gonna be worth it in a few weeks."

"Oh, I know it'll be." Her brother chuckled. "There was never a doubt in my mind that you'd be chosen, Nectar. I'm _very_ proud of you."

Nectar's heart fluttered into the air. There was nothing better than knowing that people were proud of her. It proved that this really was the right decision after all. No one believed in her when she first enrolled in the academy, not even her mom or dad. She was just a skinny little fourteen year old that had always gotten ignored, but what saved her was her persistence. There were a lot of girls that were bigger and stronger than her, sure, but she had trained until she fell over almost every day to lock in her place as tribute. She worked for it and she got it.

Technically she hadn't won yet, but every little step she took brought her that much closer!

When her brother's time came to an end, he said farewell one last time before walking out the door. Before he left though, he turned his head around and pointed back at her. "Knock em dead, sis." He said with a confident smile before the door closed behind him.

A smirk crossed Nectar's face as she stared at the metal door. "Oh, I will." she said deviously, just loud enough to be heard.

* * *

**A/N: here are district two's tributes! i'm excited to hear what you think of them and what your thoughts on this chapter are!**

**district three is next! til then :)**

**oh plus i finished reading the divergent series.. and my heart is broken. nothing could prepare me for that ending. ****i am never reading another book again.**


	4. District Three: Knowledge Is Power

Genesis was a mastermind. And she knew it too.

But, perhaps, that was the key to her intelligence. She was aware of the fact that she was an absolute and utter genius. She knew she could be unstoppable if she wanted to be.

There were no limits.

You would think that kind of confidence would make her an arrogant kid, but in fact, she was quite the opposite. She had always been invisible to her peers. She wasn't shy, she just didn't get very much satisfaction out of small talk and idle conversations. She always had bigger things to dissect.

On the morning of the reaping, Genesis woke up like she did every morning. She could hear her mother downstairs, frantic to make breakfast. Her older sister's voice was also mixed in with hers, adding to the chaos. As a draft blew in through Genesis's open window, she had the urge to wrap herself in her blanket and roll back into her bed, but she knew better. If she didn't go to the reaping, the peacekeepers would be on her. And that was the last thing she needed.

With that in mind, she got out of bed and got ready for the reaping.

Downstairs, her sister was walking out the door and her mom was beginning to wash dishes.

"Gen, I thought you said you would take out the trash this morning!" Her mom said in a stressed out voice when she saw her.

"I would, but I'm going to be late for the reaping." Genesis sighed as she headed for the door.

Her mom sighed heavily and then nodded. "Okay. I guess I can do it." She said with empathy. Her mom knew the reaping was not a fun event to go to.

"Alright. See ya." Genesis replied as she passed her mom up. The truth was, she wasn't going to take out the trash anyway. She always found a way to get out of chores.

"Well you can't leave without breakfast, honey!" Her mother screeched.

"Yeah yeah okay." On the way out the door, she grabbed a granny smith apple from off the counter.

As she stepped outside, the chilly morning air blew her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder and a chill ran down her spine.

It was time.

That was okay though. She knew the odds were in her favor.

* * *

Technology was interesting. It was a lot of trial and error to get things to work, but it was cool to see your creations come to life when you got everything just right.

Jim wasn't an inventor, as he had never actually invented anything, but he was good at fixing things. He had always liked taking things apart to see how they worked, then putting them back together. In any machine, everything was secretly interconnected. Most of the time, one broken wire could make the whole system fail. Everything had to run smoothly.

Jim was good with his hands. He always had been. Anything that involved hands on work, he liked. That's probably how he landed his job at District Three's only automotive shop. He was an expert on cars.

Sometimes he felt like he belonged in District Six rather than District Three. Everyone here was all about books, brains, and quantum physics, but Jim just couldn't get into that kind of stuff. He had never been good in school, probably because of his ADD tendencies. He could just never focus on homework. His mind was always wandering off to somewhere more interesting.

He was a dreamy, quiet kind of guy. The only time he ever really got in the zone was when he was at the shop, working on something.

He was thinking about one of the cars that came into the shop yesterday. It was a beaten up convertible that someone donated to them for it's spare parts. Even though it had just arrived, Jim already had an idea of what he would like to do with it. First he would probably need to replace the engine and take a look under the hood to see what else needed fixing. It would probably need a new transmission. Then, if he had it his way, he would paint that baby a nice cobalt blue and put some new white leather seats in there. He was thinking about white tires too. They might roughen up faster, but man would they look cool.

When Jim came out of thoughts, he realized that his mom was in the middle of talking to him. How long she had been talking, he didn't know.

"-and don't forget that your brother wants you to take him to the dinosaur museum after the reap- Jim are you even listening to me?" His mom said in frustration as she helped one of his little sisters into her shoes.

Jim snapped to attention from his seat at the kitchen table. "What? Oh, yeah. Yeah I will." He said quickly.

His mother's expression softened. "Alright good. He's been waiting for a long time." She smiled softly as she slipped the other shoe onto his sister's foot. "You can go ahead and leave for the reaping if you want. There's still some things do around here before the rest of us leave." She said.

"Oh, alright." Jim said lightly as he got out of his chair. He was going to wait for them before he left, but more time to meet up with his friends was always good.

His little sister gave him a hug and his mom kissed him goodbye. "Be safe, Jim!" His mom called out after him as he walked out the door.

"I will." Jim waved back.

On his way down to the town square, a few kids from school waved and smiled to him, but he could see that their smiles didn't quite reach their eyes. He didn't blame them though. It was a scary day for a lot of kids. He knew that.

Jim, on the other hand though, had never really worried about the Hunger Games. It wasn't worth the paranoia. Plus, Jim just wasn't an anxious type of guy in the first place. He had always been laid back and relaxed. Nothing really ruffled his feathers.

Back into his thoughts, he also began to think about the price of white tires. They definitely cost more, plus they would probably need to be custom made too. Sure, Jim would put in the extra work to get them, but his boss might not want to go through the trouble just for a set of tires. That was the catch he hadn't thought about before.

When he finally reached the line to sign in, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked ahead at the lady drawing blood. The other kids squirmed uncomfortably, but Jim stood steady. There was nothing to get riled up about. Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

After getting her finger pricked, Genesis stood coolly in the sixteen year old's section, waiting for the reaping to begin. The chilly morning air was still lingering in the breeze and she was beginning to shiver, but she didn't mind. _It will begin soon, _she thought to herself.

A few girls next to her were talking in hushed whispers, but Genesis paid them no mind. She wasn't interested in petty gossip about who kissed who and who said what. She had gotten past that stage in like fifth grade. Nowadays, she was onto bigger and better things.

Genesis's mind was always occupied with more complex things than her peers'. She saw the patterns in everything, the structure, the secrets to success and the mistakes of failure. She noticed everything. She was good at solving things. She had often thought to herself that she would make a great detective.

As more people filed into the reaping pens, Genesis inched her way closer and closer to the ropes to make room for them. Also, every time she looked around, the kids around her looked even more nervous than before. Some kids were as pale as sheets of paper.

Even though District Three was one of the smallest districts, Genesis wasn't worried about getting reaped. Yes, her odds were greater, but her fear wasn't. She had calculated the odds and the chances of her getting reaped were still well under one percent. She had survived four other reapings and this one would probably be no different.

If she was to be reaped though, of course she had a plan. She had watched enough Hunger Games to notice the patterns of victors verses the patterns of losers. The super cocky careers were usually the first to go when their alliance turned on them, the little kids were usually too scared to try to survive, and the geniuses usually ended up defeating themselves. In order to win, she just needed a balance of all those things, plus a knife.

Suddenly there was a tap on the microphone and Genesis flicked her gaze to the stage. _Finally, _she thought with a sigh of relief.

The escort, Griffin, was back for another year as District Three's escort. This year he was dressed in a beige outfit that had neatly layered feathers incorporated into it. When he opened his arms up, he had wings.

Griffin cleared his throat. "Hello District Three. The time has come...to choose one young boy and girl to compete in this year's Hunger Games. Last year was... Interesting. But I have a feeling this year will be a success!"

Genesis tried to choke down a laugh, but she just couldn't. Last year had been a disaster. Not only was Lithium a raging psychopath, but she freaking ate her district partner! Everyone knew that killing your district partner was frowned upon, but _eating them?_ That crossed the line so far, it was almost like satire.

Griffin continued on about the dark days and the first rebellion, then finally moved onto something much more exciting- the actual reaping.

"As usual, let's chose our lady first." Griffin said as he walked over to the girl's bowl. Genesis felt the tension rise in the air around her as he unfolded the slip. Genesis just stared ahead casually, her eyes focused on the little piece of paper in his hand. She expected nothing, she knew it was all up to chance.

But still, she couldn't help but wonder who it would be this year.

Griffin held the slip in the air as he read it.

"Genesis Fuse."

As the name rang across the square, it echoed a few times until it eventually faded away into silence. Genesis raised her eyebrow for a moment as the silence settled across the town square. Slowly, she looked down at her feet for a moment, as if thinking, and then she nodded ever so slightly. "Okay." She said nonchalantly.

She stepped out into the isle coolly and began her walk towards the stage.

She didn't look surprised, she didn't look terrified. She looked rather calm, her eyes slightly narrowed. To a bystanding kid in the pens, she probably seemed a bit strange. Usually, when a kid here in District Three got reaped, they were utterly wide eyed and horrified. Genesis seemed as cool as a cucumber. There was definitely something different about her. That was obvious.

When Genesis reached the the stage, she shook the escort's hand.

"Genesis, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Griffin said with a grin as he shook her hand.

Genesis just nodded once._  
_

Griffin moved right along, returning to the microphone. "Now that we have our female tribute, let's choose our male!" He said enthusiastically.

He crossed the gap over to the boys' bowl and took his time fishing out a slip. When he finally chose one, he walked back to the microphone with the slip of paper held high. He unfolded it carefully and cleared his throat.

"Jim Pisces."

As silence settled over the town square, heads began to look around.

"Jim Pisces?"

Slowly but surely, there was some movement in the seventeen year old's section. After a moment, a tall and lean boy in a white t-shirt and denim jeans stepped into the isle. He began to walk forward, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets. Genesis thought he looked vaguely familiar. He might have been from her school, but she didn't really know. He had short, neat brown hair and blue eyes that were wide with surprise.

As he stepped onto the stage, Griffin shook his hand with a smile. "Ah, you must be Jim! It's so nice to meet you." He grinned.

"Uh huh."

Genesis heard hesistence in his voice. He quickly blinked a few times and joined Genesis on the center of the stage.

"Well here you are, District Three! Meet your tributes- Genesis Fuse and Jim Pisces!" Griffin exclaimed as he motioned the two of them to shake hands.

The crowd cheered surprisingly loud as the two faced each other. Jim looked surprised and a little bit confused as he shook Genesis's hand. He wasn't sure what just happened, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to be able to take his little brother to the dinosaur museum anytime soon.

* * *

Genesis was escorted into her room in the justice building by a peacekeeper. It was a nice place with marble floors and chandeliers. There were fur rugs and plush grey couches and chairs. This was just a mere mask of what the games were really were though. She knew that. She had known that for a while.

As the door opened and her mother and older sister burst into the room, Genesis accepted their hugs and tearful goodbyes with sympathy. She felt a bit of sadness swell up in her heart as her mother sobbed. She had seen her mother cry before, but not like this. Genesis knew that she felt like she was going to lose her daughter.

_And she just might, _Genesis thought bitterly.

There was no way to know what would happen in there. It was impossible to try to predict it either. She had made a plan beforehand for if she was ever to be reaped, but she was just _now_ realizing that a lot of her fate depended on who the other 23 tributes were, what the arena was, and if people even decided to sponsor her or not.

Past years did not matter.

She quickly decided that the only way to play this game was to make one move at a time. In something like this, things were bound to change at any given moment. All it took was one wrong move to get you killed. It was scary, but it was undeniably true.

With that in mind, she became certain that her new strategy was the smartest way to play it.

As her mother and sister's time came to a close, she hugged them both goodbye, but realized that she had been too lost in her own thoughts to pay any attention to their goodbyes. _Oops, _she thought with a slight wince.

"Goodbye, Genesis. We love you very much." Her sister said sadly as she walked out the door.

"I love you too." Genesis waved back before the peacekeeper slammed the door shut behind her.

* * *

Jim felt as if he was in a dream. He knew that he had just been reaped, but for some reason, it didn't feel real. He still felt as pleasant as he did this morning. After all, it wasn't like he had been killed just _yet. _He still had a shot.

By the time his family came in, he was thinking about what the capitol would hold for him.

"Jim!" His three younger siblings burst into the room with red noses and teary eyes. His brother and two sisters leaped on him in an attempt of a hug. They probably didn't even know why they were crying. The oldest of his younger siblings was only seven, far too young to fully understand what the Hunger Games were. They had probably just started crying because their mom did first.

"We didn't know you were leaving today." The older of the two sisters said tearfully as she let go of Jim's shoulder. "I didn't want..." She trailed off.

"It's okay," Jim tried to pacify them. "I didn't either."

His brother hung his head and began to cry silently, but Jim consoled him.

"Don't cry, you guys. I'm not sad, you shouldn't be sad either." He rubbed the back of his little brother's neck. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Are you coming back?" His brother asked.

Jim sighed, not wanting to disappoint them with the truth. "Well...probably." He said hesitantly.

He couldn't let them think he might not be.

* * *

**A/N: hi! these guys sounded good on paper, but then i actually wrote them and they both really came to life. what do YOU think of genesis and jim? i can't wait to read your reviews! up next, we're taking a trip to district four to meet julius and aura!**

**til then :)**


	5. District Four: High Tide

District Four was somewhat of a wild card district. They were technically considered careers, but every year brought something different. Some years they got volunteers, some years they didn't. Some years they had winners, some years both their tributes died in the bloodbath. It always seemed to be up in the air when it came to this seaside district.

That brought on quite a bit of fright when it came time for the reapings. In districts like One and Two, there wasn't a lot of fear because the volunteering system was so strong over there. If you didn't want to go into the games, you didn't have to. Someone would always be happy to take your place.

But in a place like Four, where volunteers were unpredictable and inconsistent, people were just as scared here as they were in any outlying district.

But luckily for the boys, this year there was someone willing to take up the position. His name was Julius.

People knew him, people liked him, and he was always the center of attention. A social butterfly like him always got the girls, was invited to every party, and had everything handed to him on a silver platter. His parents owned a super popular seafood restaurant down by the ocean that got incredible business.

So you guessed it- Julius was also inherently rich.

He had been born into the wealthy upper class. It was the lifestyle he was used to and it was all he had ever known. Some said he was arrogant and haughty, but he didn't think so. He was just better than them.

So why volunteer if he already had money? It was simple. Julius wanted the admiration and respect that came along with being a victor. The money was secondary- it was the notoriety he was after. He wanted to be famous like he felt he deserved to be. Sure, he was a popular guy in his school and town, but that just wasn't enough. He wanted the whole _nation _to know his name.

A guy like him was born to be in the spotlight. And he wouldn't be satisfied with life unless he was.

He also had enough strength to back up his big dreams. Though the volunteering pool in Four wasn't big enough to build an academy just yet, he and a decent sized group of other guys regularly trained after school at the gym's training center. Some of them didn't even want to volunteer, they just enjoyed learning how to use the different weapons. That was good for Julius though, because that meant there was less competition for volunteering this year.

Currently, Julius was finishing up an early morning training session at the gym. As he walked out the back door, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm and let out a deep breath. He had wanted to fit in one last spearing practice before he volunteered today, but that session had really kicked his ass. His muscles felt like jelly and his legs had the strength of noodles at the moment.

"Tough session, huh?" A voice said from behind.

Julius turned around and saw that his friend, Cal, had also just gotten out of a morning workout. "Yeah." Julius sighed. "I'm beat."

Cal grinned and let out a laugh. "It's good practice though. You gotta train if you wanna win." He said.

Julius laughed tiredly. "Right, man. That's why I do it."

Cal began to jog ahead, going another direction. "Well I'll catch up with you later, Jule. I've gotta get home before the reaping." He said from over his shoulder as he passed him up. "Hey, and good luck with the whole volunteering thing. You're gonna blow 'em out of the water!" He called back.

Julius cracked a smile at that. "Thanks Cal! See ya." He called.

As Cal turned the corner and disappeared, Julius turned back around and began walking home. He felt worn out, but he knew it was his big day today and that in itself helped him make it there without collapsing.

When he made it home, Julius opened the front door of his family's mansion and stepped inside. The air was nice and cold against his hot skin and the big house smelled like expensive perfume and money. Crystal chandeliers hung on the ceiling and their lights were bright and florescent, casting a white glow across the marble floor.

His parents were probably still asleep or just didn't care if he was home or not, so he didn't bother to check on them. He rushed up the stairs and got into the shower to wash the sweat and grime off of his body. After he finished showering and dried off, he threw on his nice clothes and rushed down the stairs.

He was going to meet a few friends before the reaping started, so he wanted to get there early if he could.

Before he ran out the door, he halted to a stop by the mirror and flashed himself a bright grin. His reflection looked like it usually did. Handsome. His green eyes were just as piercing as they always were and his smile was just as white.

After deeming his reflection good, Julius burst out the front door and into the street, where all the other kids were beginning to come out of their house as well.

As he made his way down to the seaside for the reaping, he walked with his shoulders back and his head held high. He felt extra proud today. He was teeming with energy and enthusiasm the whole way there. A few friends who passed him by wished him luck and patted him on the back. A lot of people stared at him, and he heard his name in the hushed whispers of people around him.

Today he was the center of attention and it felt great.

This was the way it _should _be.

* * *

Aura was a gentle soul. Her shy and passive nature made her an unusual kid in a predominately rough and tumble career district, but it didn't mean she was a weakling. In the water, Aura was as swift as a fish. It kind of came with the territory when you lived in Four. Being a swimmer was nothing special in the seaside district, but it was still a handy skill to possess.

Weaponry wasn't really her strong suit since she couldn't even imagine harming another living thing, so she stuck to keeping her skills swimming related.

Today was Aura's fifth reaping. Nerves were always an issue on a day like this, but she tried to swallow her fear for the sake of her sister, who's very _first _reaping was today.

She held her sister's hand as they took a shortcut through the beach, the sand getting in their flip flops. The May air was warm and gentle, with the occasional cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue and the soothing sound of the nearby waves was relaxing.

As the two girls stepped foot into the reaping venue, Aura heard her sister's breath hitch. She looked back at the twelve year old with a raised eyebrow. "You okay, Alouette?" She asked.

Alouette's blue eyes darted around nervously, looking at all the kids in the reaping pens. She nodded shakily and moved closer to her sister. "I-I'm okay."

Aura nodded back and continued into the check in booth. "After we get our fingers pricked, you go stand with the twelve year old's and wait there until the reaping's over." Aura pointed over to the other little girls in the twelve year old's section.

"But if we get reaped-" Alouette began.

Aura laughed breathlessly. "You won't."

Her sister nodded, but her eyes were still wide with fear. Aura waited for Alouette to get her finger pricked and then sent her off with the other twelve year old's.

Then, she walked into the sixteen year old's section by herself and waited for the reaping to begin. A few friends from school welcomed her to stand with them and Aura's nerves calmed down a little bit as she entered the company of her friends.

"What is she _wearing_?" One of the girls giggled when the escort, Aqua Begula, glided onto the stage.

This year, Aqua's hair was dyed a shimmery turquoise blue, flat ironed pin straight, and parted down the middle. She had glittering scales glued onto the curves of her face and wore a skin tight mermaid's tail that was decorated with scales as well. It was only when she turned around that Aura saw that the woman was wearing _no_ shirt. Her back was bare, and the only thing covering her sacred woman lumps was her unusually long hair.

Aura raised her eyebrows in surprise. Capitol fashion sure was provocative these days.

"Good morning, District Four!" Aqua sang into the microphone, her lavender colored lips stretching into a grin. "The time has come to choose two brave, _strong_ tributes for this year's Hunger Games. Let's begin with the boys!"

Aqua sauntered over to the boys' bowl and dipped her long pastel nails right into the center. After taking a slip out of the bowl, she walked back to her platform. Aqua unfolded the slip of paper and raised the microphone to her lips.

"Sammy Crusoe."

Aura looked over at the boys, her eyes wide with shock. She knew Sammy. He was a nice, cute boy in her grade with curly blonde hair. He always let her borrow his homework when she forgot to do it. She searched the boys' section for him, but before she could spot him, a deep bass voice rang out.

"I volunteer," someone called out strongly.

Aura let out a sigh of relief as a tall, athletic guy from the seventeen or eighteen year old's section shouldered his way out of the crowd. Sammy was safe. The volunteer had warm, tanned skin and shaggy golden hair that glistened in the sunlight. As he emerged from the crowd, he had a dangerous glint in his eyes and a devious smirk on his lips that sent a shiver down Aura's spine.

He looked like someone that could win.

"A volunteer! Oh how exciting, what is your name?" Aqua exclaimed as he walked onstage.

"Julius Osman." He said evenly, looking out into the crowd with confidence.

"Amazing!" Aqua grinned. "Let's meet your female counterpart."

Back in the crowd, a girl behind Aura giggled. "I wouldn't mind being _his _district partner." One of them said under her breath. A few girls around her began to giggle as well and Aura cracked a smile. He _was_ pretty good looking, she had to admit.

Aqua pulled a name out of the girls' bowl and walked back to the center of the stage. Aura and her friends were still giggling about the comment when Aqua read the name. They was only half paying attention.

"Aura Cruz!"

Aura perked up at the sound of her name. _What? _A few older girls looked back at her, their eyes solemn and serious. Her friends around her stopped laughing and Aura felt something cold and scary pool in the pit of her stomach. This kind of attention only meant one thing. The smile dropped off her face as the town square got quiet. Aqua repeated the name.

"Aura Cruz?" She said again.

_That's me, _she thought. It was all that registered. She was right- Aqua had said _her _name. She was the one that got reaped.

Without even thinking, Aura began to walk towards the isle, her knees shaking ever so slightly. "I-I'm here." She managed to get out as she stumbled into the isle.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she walked forward. Her cheeks heated up and she tried to keep her composure intact. _Don't cry!_ she commanded at herself internally. _Stop trembling!_

As she reached the stage, Aqua helped her up the steps and grinned like a maniac. "Ooh aren't you just darling! Congratulations Aura! You're in for the ride of your life!" The escort exclaimed in a voice that made her flinch.

Aqua positioned her right by Julius's side. Aura could feel the power and strength practically radiating off of the tall boy as Aqua announced their names to the rest of the district. "Aura Cruz and Julius Osman! Give it up for your District Four tributes!"

As the crowd clapped, a cool breeze blew in from the ocean and cooled Aura's hot cheeks, but blew her long brown hair into her face. The familiar smell of the ocean made her feel nostalgic already. She was leaving District Four now and possibly never coming back. This was all happening too fast! This wasn't supposed to be happening at all!

"Shake hands, tributes!" Aqua turned back towards them with the same huge grin plastered on her face.

Julius reached his large hand out and shook Aura's shaking one in a strong grip. _This guy is my competitor now! _She dared to look up into his piercing green eyes and was nothing short of intimidated. She tried to take a deep breath, but the nerves were just too great to handle at the moment.

This was all just happening too fast.

* * *

In the justice building, Julius's mom was the first to visit him.

"Oh Julius, I told you I didn't want you volunteering for this! What are you thinking? We don't need the money, we don't need any of it! Why would you sign up for this death match? Why?" She cried out in tears, not wanting to lose her only son.

Julius sighed and shook his head. "I never expected you to understand, mom." He mumbled.

"I want to understand, though. I don't want you to die, Julius. I don't want you to die in there!" His mother's theatrics were through the roof, causing Julius to roll his eyes.

"I'm not," was all he said in reply, trying not to give her a reason to freak out even more.

His mother never wanted him to do anything risky. She didn't understand him and she never had. Over the years though, Julius had just learned to brush off his mom's anxiety as nothing. It was something he was used to doing by now.

"Just please be safe!" She pleaded as she hugged him tight.

After his mom's time was up, Julius breathed a sigh of relief when her dramatics were over. Julius's next guests though were a huge group of his cheering friends that brought a smile to his face. His mother's tears were long forgotten by now.

His friends slammed their hands on his back and whooped and cheered as they all congratulated him on volunteering. He could only hear the beginnings and ends of their words, but the chaos was a good kind. They were all happy for him.

_This _was the kind of company he preferred.

"You're gonna do great in there!"

"We're rooting for you!"

"The other tributes don't stand a chance!"

Everyone was talking all at once, but it didn't matter. Julius got the jist of what his friends were saying. They believed in him. They knew he was going to win this thing. They felt the same way he did.

After it was time for them to go, Julius was in good spirits. With an elated smile on his face, he plopped down onto the plush couch and waited to be escorted to the train. This was going to be so exciting!

He couldn't wait.

* * *

"Aura!" Her sister's tearful voice brought her back to reality. Aura looked up to see Alouette running towards her, the door slamming shut when she entered the room. With open arms, she embraced her little sister.

"It's okay, Aloe. Everything's okay." She said as she rubbed her hand up and down Alouette's back. The little girl cried into her shoulder and Aura tried her best not to start crying as well.

"I-I thought you said neither of us would ge-get reaped." Alouette said through her tears.

Aura closed her eyes and sighed. "I didn't think- god, Aloe I really didn't think this would happen. The odds were so good for us both. I-I really just don't know what happened." She said honestly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"And there's no way you can stay here?" Alouette asked as she let go of her, looking at her hopefully.

Aura shrugged and dropped her gaze to the floor. "I don't think so.. Not this time." She said regretfully. Oh, how she wished there _was _a way to stay here.

Alouette nodded slowly. "Then you have to win." She said evenly.

Aura looked up at her sister. "I don't know if I can." She said truthfully. "I hate to discourage you, Aloe, but I don't know what else to say. I can't lie to you, not about something like this."

Alouette shook her head. "No don't even say that. Aura, I know you can do this. I know it." She said steadily, a tone Aura wasn't used to hearing from her sister. "If anything, do it for me. Don't count yourself out before you even get to the games. You have to try."

Aura slumped her shoulders and looked at the ceiling. "Of course I'm going to try, but I'm just telling you not to get your hopes up. I'm going to fight to come back home, sure, but just in case I don't... I don't want you to be too upset. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Alouette sighed and hung her head. "I do. I just want you to try as hard as you can."

Aura nodded, her eyes sympathetic. "And I will."

She knew she had to try. It was her only option.

* * *

**A/N: hi guuyyys. i spent nearly the whole weekend writing stuff on here and thats why this chapter is up sooner than expected. i hope you like this pair of characters! they will definitely be an interesting addition to this story. and wowww! i'm super happy that you all liked genesis and jim so much. they are some of my faves too! soo yeah, that's about it. i'll be back soon with district 5!**

**until then :)**


	6. District Five: Sad Eyes

Blue woke up in the morning with the same cold, uneasy feeling that he had fallen asleep with. It was still an ungodly hour before dawn, but the moment he opened his eyes, he felt wide awake. Going back to sleep wasn't a possibility anymore.

The reaping was today.

The sky outside was still dark and the wind was cold and unforgiving. Every few minutes, it crashed and rattled his window panes and made him flinch. Blue flickered his eyes over to the clock on his nightstand and sighed. It was only five in the morning. The rest of the world was probably still asleep, but here he was; awake... alone.

Just like usual.

He still had a good three hours before the reaping, so he decided to make use of the time. From under his mattress, he pulled out his sketch book and turned to the picture he was currently working on. It was a eye's view of someone laying in a meadow of daisies. The skyline was an amazing light azure with fading white clouds swirled into the background faintly.

He liked it at a time like now. A light, breezy picture like this contrasted with this cold, dark morning. It made him feel a bit less lonely to look at something happy.

He sketched the tops of a group of mountains on each side of the paper. He left the middle open to make the sky look bigger and more vast. Instead of drawing the mountains in grey like he had seen them in history books at school, he gave them a purple tint. He thought it made his picture look a little more fantasy like. He liked that.

Blue always found himself drawing dreamscapes and pictures that looked like they were straight out of, well, a dream. District Five was such a polluted and drab place, it was nice to escape to somewhere more magical. He was great at drawing faces and bodies too, but those weren't as interesting.

Blue had always used escapism to cope with his real life. Kids just loved to pick on him at school for some reason or another, and it was hard on him. He knew his quiet and gentle disposition made him an easy target, but getting shoved into lockers every day wasn't fun.

He preferred staying inside, painting, and listening to music on the weekends instead of going outside with the other kids for that very reason.

If people weren't teasing him, they were ignoring him. Blue was a wallflower and he always had been. Friends had come and gone over the years, but in the end, he was alone. People didn't seem to notice him or even look his way anymore nowadays. He felt invisible most of the time.

He tried to make himself believe that he liked it better that way, but he knew he didn't. Things got lonely after a while. He wasn't socially inept, it was just his fear of rejection that kept him from opening his mouth.

As the sun began to rise over the steel rooftops outside his window, Blue looked out at the morning sunrise. The sky wasn't supposed to be this grey and he knew it, but even in the wee hours of the morning, there was still factory smoke swirling in dark huffs out of the factory chimneys.

From the glass window, Blue could see his translucent reflection staring back at him. His hair was tousled and messy from sleep, but it was still as blonde as ever. Blue had this naturally icy shade of blonde hair and these clear, blue eyes that made him look very ethereal. Angelic, even.

Blue didn't mind it, but to the kids at school, it was just another thing to make fun of.

And Blue knew that the reaping today meant having to face the group of guys that loved to tease him.

With a tired groan, Blue slumped his back against the wall and closed his eyes. _Great, that's just what I need._

* * *

A few hours later, the sun had risen and the warmth of daylight had returned to the air. Scarlet walked to the town square for the reaping, the click clack of her high heels rhythmatic against the concrete pavement. She had her little compact mirror raised to her face, slicking on another layer of red lipstick.

She wasn't feeling pink lipstick anymore. Red was her new favorite color.

It felt more feminine. More womanly. It brought out the full, plump shape of her lips too.

After she finished filling in the center of her lips, she snapped the compact shut and dropped her lipstick and mirror back into her clutch. She flipped her long, light blonde hair over her shoulder and continued walking to the town square.

Suddenly, a few familiar voices called her name. "Scarlet! Hey, wait up!" Someone called out, followed by the sound of quick paced footsteps.

Scarlet turned her head around to spot a few of her friends coming her way. "Hey girls!" She smiled as she waved them over.

The one with her golden hair tied up into a ponytail, Amber, grinned as she ran over to her. She had something to gossip about, Scarlet knew it.

"You will _never _believe what happened at Roxy's party on Friday night!" Amber said as she reached her.

_And I was right, _Scarlet thought with a smirk. She raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" She asked, interested.

"Juliette and Matty went to the party together and you know that they've been dating for a _long _time. Like a year and a half! Yeah, they seemed like they were both pretty committed. But anyways, at some point in the night Juliette realized that Matty was gone and she went to look for him and long story short, she caught him kissing another girl! Can you believe that? She actually caught him in the act!" Amber exclaimed as the girls began walking together. The other girls began talking as well, telling her the other details.

"Oh my god, she must be devastated!" Scarlet said, her brown eyes wide. "What did she do?"

Amber laughed dryly. "She just threw her drink in his face and left. I don't think they've talked since."

Scarlet laughed breathlessly. "I feel so bad for her! Man, I guess that means they're broken up, huh."

Amber nodded. "Yep. I'm pretty sure." She said with finality.

"I'm going to have to find her after the reaping. That sucks, wow. Oh god, did you hear that Danny got caught by the peacekeepers trying to steal from the convenience store?" Scarlet jumped into the conversation.

Amber's eyes grew wide. "Oh my god, no! What?"

"Yeah, he was trying to steal a pack of cigarettes and literally got dragged out by the peacekeepers! They didn't flog him because he's still a minor, but could you imagine if he were to have been caught in somewhere like _Eleven? _He would have been dead!"

"Oh my god, what was he thinking? That kid is crazy, I swear!" One of the other girl's, Claire, said.

"I know!"

The girls continued talking as they reached the check in station and got their fingers pricked. As they stood in line, it progressed quickly and soon it was Scarlet's turn. She handed the lady her finger and she drew a drop of blood from it.

Scarlet didn't pay attention to the pain though. She still couldn't believe Matty cheated on Juliette. She had recalled several instances where Matty had tried to make a move on her too, but she had told him to get lost. Even though she was popular, Scarlet still had _class. _She would never be any guy's side chick. She held herself to higher standards than that.

As the girls made their way into the sixteen year old's section, Amber and the other girls were beginning to talk about something else and Scarlet let her eyes wander to the stage. Seeing her friends had eased her nerves about the reaping, but there was still a small bit of fear in the back of her mind. Even if she only had the bare minimum of slips in the bowl, there was still a chance.

With all the drama happening today though, she didn't think it would be her.

* * *

Blue walked into the check in station with his head low, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. In his hands, he clutched a thick, fictional book and held it close to his chest. He had finished his picture this morning and planned to hang it on his wall after the reaping was over.

In line, one girl smiled his way, but she turned back around before he could decide if he wanted to return the smile or not.

Blue couldn't help but shut down in social situations. Most people mistook this as refusal, but it was just his way of avoiding rejection. If he didn't say anything, no one could mock him for it.

After he got his finger pricked, the lady wrapped a little gauzy band-aid on it and sent him into the pens. He held his book close to him as he slipped into the fifteen year old's section and prayed for the ceremony to begin quickly. His wish wasn't granted though. Someone shoved him from behind and he had to catch himself before he tripped over his own feet.

"Hey watch it, loser." A familiar bully said from behind him. Blue steadied himself back on his feet, not even bothering to look back, as the boy and his friends laughed. Blue just tried to ignore them and look ahead. _The reaping will be over soon._ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _It will all be over soon._

After a few more minutes, there was a tap on the microphone and Blue opened his eyes. His gaze landed on the bright orange escort, Osiris, standing on the stage, grinning like a maniac.

"Good morning District Five!" Osiris sang into the microphone, his voice echoing across the town square. "Last year brought us two _very _strong players, but we didn't quite take it all home. Let's make this year our winning year!"

Blue frowned slightly. He didn't think about Salome or Freddie that much anymore. Probably because he knew them from school before they died and it was hard to reminisce on them without feeling sad. Salome was a spitfire and got into a lot of fights at school before she was reaped. Girls didn't like her, but she still exuded such confidence about herself. Blue liked that about her. He wished he was that secure with himself.

Freddie was a bit of a wild card though. He was in Blue's first hour art class, but he barely showed up half the time. When he did come, he was either on drugs or just flat out drunk. That kid just didn't care. At some point, Blue swore he saw Freddie pull out a flask of vodka and take a swig of it during the middle of the teacher's lesson. Freddie was a nice boy though. He never said anything mean to Blue and let him borrow his charcoal pencils when he forgot his.

Blue didn't want to remember either of them as dead. He liked to remember them as they were when they were alive. It was always eerie and weird when Blue came to art class after the games were over. It was so odd to see Freddie's seat empty and barren. It was sad. It was actually really sad.

That boy was really dead now.

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, Blue tuned back in and realized that Osiris was almost done with his speech about the dark days. He looked up to the stage and was instantly drawn to Osiris's wild outfit for the year. Everyone knew his favorite color was orange, so that's probably why he wore it every year.

This year's orange though, was brighter and a more blinding shade of neon. Osiris's unnaturally bright hair was twisted into tight corkscrew curls and his face was contoured in orange too. He wore a skin tight, orange latex body suit and eight inch white stilettos. To keep the white balanced with his outfit, he also wore a multitude of bright white necklaces and jewels. There were no gender roles here. If it wasn't for his broad shoulders and slim hips, he might have mistaken for a woman.

As Osiris finished his dark days speech, he tapped on the microphone and hushed the crowd. "Now, as you all know, it is time to choose two very _brave _tributes for this year's Hunger Games. As usual, let's start with the ladies."

He danced over to the girl's bowl and plucked a name right off the top. He twirled back to the microphone and unfolded it carefully.

"Scarlet Hanson!" He sang.

Blue's eyes darted over to the girls' pen and searched for the unlucky person. The name Scarlet Hanson sounded familiar, but he couldn't recognize the name without a face. As the girl parted from the crowd though, he recognized her as someone from school.

_Man, why do people from my school always get picked?_, Blue asked himself as Scarlet walked to the stage. She was a petite girl, probably no taller than 5'5. She had feminine curves and long wavy blonde hair that was parted down the middle precisely. She had these big brown doe eyes and wore red lipstick on her lips. She was so pretty.

Scarlet looked both surprised and shocked as she reached the stage. Tears ran down her cheeks as she shook Osiris's hand. For once, she was quiet and didn't say anything. Blue had never seen her with her mouth shut before.

Osiris grinned as he introduced her to the crowd. "It's so nice to meet you, Miss Hanson! Let's meet your district partner now, shall we?"

_Here's the part I have to worry about, _Blue though to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut. He stood still and tried to make himself look as unnoticeable as possible. This was the most important time to be invisible. He did _not _want to be the one who's name got called.

Osiris pulled a name out of the very bottom of the bowl and walked back to the microphone. He unfolded it and raised it to his orange lips.

_Please don't be me, please not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not m-_

"Blue DeBuuuuuurrrrrr" Osiris said in a chilly voice.

_Not me, not me... not..._

Blue snapped his eyes open as Osiris's voice echoed through the town square, leaving a hovering silence over the crowd. After a moment, he grew suspicious when no one began to move. _Well, where is he?, _Blue thought as he looked around for the boy who's name got called. _Where's Blue DeBuhr? Where's..._

Blue froze in his place. An icy cold sensation froze every limb of his body. His clear, arctic eyes grew wide as people began to look back at him. _That's me._

He stayed frozen in place until someone shoved him into the isle mercilessly.

Blue almost stumbled over his feet, but quickly caught himself. As he regained his balance, he steadied himself and automatically began walking to the stage. He had never imagined himself in a million years being the one making this long walk. People began to look his way and he felt every single pair of eyes in the district on him. _Don't look at me!,_ He cried out internally. He felt something cold drip down his cheek and realized he was crying too.

Once he acknowledged that tear though, the rest came like a waterfall. Everything began to set in and by the time he reached the stage, it was too late to put on a tough facade.

Osiris reached his hand out to him, but Blue declined his handshake, keeping his own hands clutched onto his book. His throat was swollen and his tears came out in choked sobs. Up in front of the entire district, things felt different. Looking out into the audience, he saw that everyone noticed him now. Everyone.

There was no hiding.

"Well there you have it, folks! Please give a big hand to your District Five tributes- Scarlet Hanson and Blue DeBuhr!" Osiris called out to the crowd.

People cheered and Osiris motioned him and Scarlet to shake hands.

Scarlet turned to him and held out her delicate, manicured hand. Blue put his in hers and they shook. Looking into Scarlet's brown eyes, she reflected the same fear and shock that he did.

Popular or not, they were both about to meet the same fate.

* * *

A peacekeeper escorted Scarlet into her goodbye room and left her by herself to weep. She wiped the tears off of her face, only to find that they were replaced with more. "Well there goes my makeup." She said weakly.

Why would this happen to her? It wasn't supposed to be this way. Not even an hour ago, she was laughing with her friends about silly, mediocre things like boys and makeup and now she was being shipped off to the Hunger Games. Why would this happen to her? She still had a whole life ahead of her. She was a good person, she knew she was! Bad things weren't supposed to happen to good people.

Somewhere along the way, she heard the door open and felt her mom and little brother's hands on her shoulders and on her back. They were crying too. Her brother wrapped her in a hug at the waist and her mother just held her close.

"My Scarlet..." She trailed off.

"Mom, how did this happen?" Scarlet choked out through the tears. "I'm a good person, why was I reaped?"

Her mother held her tighter. "I don't know, honey. I really... just don't know." It was all she could say. What else was she supposed to do? Tell her it would be easy to come back home? That would be a lie.

Scarlet just cried and cried and cried some more. There would be_ no_ easy way out of this.

"Scar, will you come back?" Her younger brother said in a small voice.

Scarlet just felt more tears roll down her cheeks. "I want to, Anthony. I want to, but I don't know if I can do it."

Anthony just held on and buried his head into her waist. "Please just try." He said in a muffled voice. "Please try, Scar."

After a few more minutes, the peacekeepers burst in the room and removed her family from her. Anthony shrieked and cried and Scarlet tried to grasp onto him for one more moment.

"I love you!" She cried out, but the door slammed shut before she could finish her sentence.

All she was left with after they were gone was the silence and the sound of her own shaking breath. She needed to come back. For Anthony, for mom... For everyone she was leaving behind. Even if she didn't think she could do it, she still had to try. She wasn't ready to die.

The next people to come visit her were some kids from school. Actually, it wasn't just some, it was a lot of them. Some were childhood friends she used to play dolls with, some were ex boyfriends saying how sorry they were for dumping her, some were just random guys proclaiming their love for her. The last group though, were her real best friends.

"Scarlet!" Amber cried as she squeezed her in a hug. Her eyes were red and her face was wet with tears. "Scarlet, I can't lose you. You're one of my best friends. What am I gonna do?" She cried into her shoulder. "What will _any_ of us do?"

Claire and Lily also embraced her in a hug.

"Scar, don't get too scared. I know you have it in you to win. You have so much fire, so much drive... I know you can do this." Lily said tearfully.

Scarlet brushed Lily's hair out of her face. "Thank you, Lily." She smiled weakly.

"Wait," Amber said weakly. "T-take this as your token." She said as she reached behind her neck and unclipped her diamond necklace. "To remember us with."

Scarlet shook her head. "Amber I can't accept that. That must have cost a fortune to buy."

Amber shoved it into her hand forcefully. "No, take it." She demanded. "I_ want_ you to have it."

Scarlet felt the weight of it in her hand as she looked down at the shimmering gem necklace. After a moment, she sighed and put it around her neck. "I'm going to miss you all so much." She said tearfully.

Amber's chin trembled. "We'll miss you too."

* * *

By the time Blue's parents came to say goodbye, he was already thinking about the games. He was good with art. Maybe he could camouflage himself in the arena. He could paint tree bark, right? Maybe he could even learn how to wield a knife. He didn't care, all he knew was that he had to learn how to do _something _before he was thrown into that arena.

His parents burst into the room and swooped him into a hug. "Oh Blue, don't cry." His mother soothed him. "Don't cry anymore. It's going to be okay. Everything will be okay."

Blue wiped the tears off his face. "You know that's not true, mom." He said.

She didn't reply, she just sighed and continued crying.

"Son?" Blue's dad said softly from behind his mom.

Blue raised his head and looked up at him. "Yeah, dad."

"Try to find some allies." He said simply. "You might need someone in there."

"An ally would stab me in my sleep, dad." Blue said weakly. "I can't risk that." He had not thought about allies at all yet and it made him nervous to do so. He had never been able to trust someone else besides his family, especially with his life. No, he couldn't do that.

His dad shook his head. "Not necessarily." He said with a shake of his head. "I know you don't want to, but just think about it, okay? I don't want you to go in there alone. Loners are usually the first people that get hunted down."

His words made Blue go still.

_Hunted down._

_They would hunt him down._

The rest of the goodbye went by in a blur. The only few words that lingered in his mind after his parent's left were his dad's last words.

_The other tributes were going to hunt him down._

* * *

**A/N: so i sat down at the computer today and was like "im not moving until i get this chapter done." and now, even though this has been grueling and tedious few hours, it is finally complete! huzzah! leave me a review or whatever and let me know what you think or if you have any ideas or something. sooooooo yeah, that's all for now.**

**til next time!**


	7. District Six: Mysterious Skin

In a secluded brightly lit room, a tall focused man examined the dead body closely, his eyes shifting from one area to another. He carefully felt inside of the gash with both his hands and his scalpel, determining what the weapon was that killed the man.

As he further examined the wound, he found that the tear in the muscle tissue didn't stop all at once, but narrowed into a point. With a grunt, he confirmed his earlier hypothesis; the man's fatal wound was a stab to the chest with a knife.

He wiped the stale blood off his gloves and scribbled down a few words on his notepad before going back to his examination. This particular case was under investigation by the police and they were relying on him and him alone to give the final verdict on the man's autopsy report.

He turned the man over on his back to search for any other wounds, but he found none. He scribbled something else down on his notepad.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and a child popped it's head in. "Hi dad. Are you finishing up yet?" A small girl with curly brown hair and curious green eyes asked. She sneaked into the room and stared at the dead man with wide eyes. "What happened to him, dad?" She asked.

The man looked at her, reflecting the same green eyes as the girl. "Stabbed." He grunted. "Most likely bled out since the wound didn't cut directly through his heart." He eyed the body with narrowed eyes. "That would explain the lack of blood too."

She nodded absently, staring at the cold dead body.

"Are you sure you wanna be in here? You know your mom doesn't want you seeing stuff like this, Bean." The man said as he checked a few boxes on his notepad.

Bean looked up. "I'm fine." She said simply.

The truth was, stuff like this didn't scare her. She had seen plenty of dead bodies before. If anything, it made her curious. the human body was so strange. Cut off an arm and the stump will heal, mess with the heart or brain and you're dead.

"So what happens now?" Bean asked, looking up at her father.

He sighed and took off his red coated gloves. "We give the cops the news." He said.

* * *

On the other side of District Six, Joel had just been sent to the principle's office for getting into a fist fight during gym class. The big, scary dean of discipline stared him down silently, his arms folded over his big barrel chest. Uncomfortable silence filled the room as the two sat there.

Joel knew the man was mad, probably very mad, but he didn't care. He just shoved his dark brown hair out of his face and continued to avoid all eye contact with the man.

He was going to get suspended, he already knew that. He just wished the principal would get it over with already.

The boy Joel fought was in the nurse's office with a broken nose and several dark bruises forming on his body from the impact of Joel's fists.

His fists. He looked down at his hands to see bruises forming on them as well. Purple splotched hands, a few cuts, swollen knuckles. They hurt bad, but Joel didn't care though. That boy had gotten what he deserved. It was about time he stood up for himself anyway.

He didn't fight often, but today was just the day. That's what he had told himself. He knew from the minute he woke up that morning that if someone messed with him, he was probably going to fly off the handle.

And he most certainly did.

Joel was a deeply troubled boy, but the principle wasn't to know of that. So when he asked him why he did it, Joel didn't respond.

The principal was getting frustrated. "Young man, i asked you a question." He said in a loud voice.

He was only met with silence as his words settled though.

With a sigh, the principle realized that this boy wasn't willing to talk about what he had done, not with him anyway. "Mr. Joel, maybe you should give the school counselor a visit." He said in a contained voice. "Then maybe we can discuss your punishment."

* * *

A few minutes later, Joel found himself sitting in the counselor's office, bored and irritated.

"Well... Maybe it's good that your getting angry." Dr. Alfred began as he adjusted his glasses on top of his narrow nose. "Because you know when people get depressed, they tend to bottle everything up. Keep it all inside..."

And that's where Joel began to zone out. He had heard it all before. This was curable. He'd be okay. It would get better, blah, blah, blah... That was all a lie of course. He knew he'd never fade out of this. He had simply been through too much. If people knew what happened to him, they would understand too... But they didn't. They couldn't.

People like Dr. Alfred were incapable of grasping people like him. Joel didn't care _how_ many degrees he had.

Dr. Alfred was a privileged, book smart man that probably didn't know the first thing about the horrors of the world that lurked outside his office. Joel knew about all the things you couldn't find in a psychology textbook. Dr. Alfred didn't. That was where their difference laid.

Joel was a firsthand, raw and real type of guy. He didn't care about the diagnoses or behavior reports on the pieces of paper. He didn't care about that stuff at all. He couldn't be contained by the rules or the contracts. They were just paper. It was all just paper.

He was so deep in his own thoughts, it took him a few minutes to realize that Dr. Alfred had stopped talking and was looking right at him. "Joel." he said evenly. "I think that maybe you are coming out of your depression."

Joel suddenly had the urge to laugh at the intense look on his counselor's face. Instead, he held up his hands as if surprised. "Ooh." Joel mocked with wide eyes and dramatic expression.

Dr. Alfred eyed him strangely, then wrote something down on his notepad._  
_

Joel had had enough of this though. With a scoff, he got out of his chair and walked right out of the room. He didn't want that man writing down stuff about him.

Dr. Alfred looked shocked as he glanced up to see the chair before him empty. "Joel! Mr. Perona, w-where are you going?" He called from behind him as he exited his office as well. "You can't leave yet! I haven't finished speaking to you." He said in a flabbergasted voice as he watched the tall, dark haired boy shove open the front doors of the school and leave the building all together.

Dr. Alfred watched him walk out of the school and rubbed his head, surprised and confused. _I don't think he can do that! _He thought frantically as he turned on his heel to inform the principal of the boy's escape.

* * *

The next morning was reaping day. Bean skipped down the sidewalk on her way to the town square. Her brown hair was caught in the breeze and she hummed a tune to herself as she skipped along. The familiar sound of car engines and hovercraft motors rumbled in the distance as she approached closer and closer to the downtown area. District Six was the transportation district and always seemed to be bustling with invention and ways to make traveling faster and easier. Excitement was around every corner.

After a few more minutes, Bean finally reached her destination. As she entered the pathway to the reaping, the people of the crowd hurried past her to their designated sections without even sparing her a second glance. One boy even shoved her out of the way.

_Rude! _she thought with a snort as she steadied her feet from falling. Recovering quickly, Bean hopped into line with the other kids and waited for her turn to check in.

Her dad gave the autopsy report to the police yesterday and they came and removed the body from his operating room. Bean didn't stick around for that part though. She went to the backyard to play instead. She let the memory of the dead man slip her mind and her thoughts took her elsewhere. They took her back to the reaping.

Soon, it was her turn in line and she let the peacekeeper zap her with a needle. After she got her finger pricked, she slipped under the ropes and wedged herself into the fourteen year old's section, right at the edge. Bean patted her dress down and waited for the ceremony to begin.

On the stage sat the old mayor, his wife, and the escort, Angelica. On the other side of the stage was District Six's only victor, Aston Grant. He was in his mid twenties if Bean remembered correctly and had curling blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He was the victor of the Twelfth Hunger Games.

For the Twelfth Hunger Games, the arena was a futuristic city with a central power plant base. The cornucopia was located inside of the power plant and had several doors built in for escape routes to the rest of the arena. If a tribute was good with wires and codes, they could easily explode tribute bases from miles away just by connecting the right wires and clicking the right buttons.

And lucky for Aston, he was one of the few tributes who knew how to do that.

In the arena, he picked off a few tributes here and there with electricity traps and explosives, but when the final four came, he had to depend on his own physical strength and a sword to keep him alive, not explosives. He let the first tribute fall by the hands of the two remaining careers, and then he charged. It was two against one, but Aston managed to kill one of the careers from behind. And after a long, bloody battle for the crown, the other career tripped over a ridge in the ground and Aston took that opportunity to decapitate his head clean off his body.

Bean was still young when he had won, but she remembered how grand the celebration was when he finally returned home. It had been District Six's first win.

She hoped whoever got reaped this year was capable of winning too.

Suddenly, Angelica tapped on the microphone and a hush fell over the town square. "Oh hello, hello District Six!" She sang into the microphone, her rosy pink lips stretching into a smile.

Angelica wore a pale pink, long and flowy chiffon dress that was draped in an effortless and breezy fashion from the waistline, down. Little rosebud designs were incorporated into both her dress and her hair, making her seem a bit flowerlike herself. Her light pink hair was gathered up into a loose, yet voluminous bun on her head, a few hairs peeking out in wispy curls. Her jewelry was minimal and her makeup was soft and natural.

Surprisngly, Bean thought she looked amazing! Very dreamy and beautiful.

Angelica carried on. "As tradition follows, I am going to choose one boy and one girl to participate in this year's Hunger Games. When I draw the name, the selected tribute will walk to the stage and join us on a luxurious trip to the capitol before being transported to an arena to fight to the death for _victory_." She said just as she did every year. "Are we ready?" She smiled to the crowd.

A few people nodded, but the rest of the square was silent. "Okay then. Let's start with the boys." She said as she crossed the gap to the bowl.

She dipped a jeweled hand into the bowl and pulled out a single name from the top with ease.

"Joel Perona."

Her voice echoed across the town square and eventually settled into silence. Bean jerked her head up and searched the pen across from her for the chosen boy. Her green eyes darted from the twelve year old section all the way to the eighteen year old section, trying to find whoever he was.

Finally, there was some movement in what looked like the seventeen year old section and after a moment, a tall lithe boy with dark brown hair and narrowed brown eyes shoved his way into the isle. Bean's eyes widened. He looked kind of... _angry! _His bruised hands were balled into tight fists and his jaw was set defiantly.

_Man, he looks tough! _Bean thought to herself in surprise as he walked on stage and refused Angelica's handshake of congratulations. He just crossed his arms and stood there, an irritated glare in his eyes.

Angelica recovered quickly though as she regained her composure. "I-uh, onto the girls!" She smiled awkwardly as she made her way to the other bowl.

She drew a name from the middle this time and unfolded it carefully. She raised the microphone to her rosy lips and cleared her throat.

"Bean Botonis!" She called out.

Bean stared ahead to the stage, her eyes still focused on the tough boy standing there. He might be able to bring the crown back to District Six this year. He looked like he could be a strong competitor. Bean glanced from him to Angelica for a moment before someone shoved her from behind.

"That's you!" the girl behind her said.

Bean jumped. "Don't push me- what?" She asked.

"She called your name, Bean!" Another girl said in a worried voice.

Bean turned her head back to the stage in confusion and saw Angelica standing before the microphone with an unfolded slip in her hand, as if she was waiting.

"Bean Botonis?" She called out again.

As the name settled into the air for a second time, Bean's eyes grew wide. _Oh man, s__he _did _call me!_

Bean slipped under the ropes and automatically began walking to the stage before she could register that she had just been reaped. _How could I have missed that? _She wondered. It suddenly felt like a spotlight had fallen on top of her head. Every pair of eyes in the district stared at her, some sympathetically, some judgingly, some sadly.

As she stepped onto the stage, Angelica reached out her hand to her and shook it excitedly. "Oh, aren't you just precious! You must be Bean!" She grinned.

Bean nodded. "Yeah I'm Bean. Uh, will someone volun-" She began to ask the escort.

"Come now, meet your district partner!" Angelica interrupted her as she rushed Bean by Joel's side. "Tributes, shake hands! It's going to be a very exciting few weeks!" She said enthusiastically.

Bean, wide eyed and confused, reached her hand out to the intimidating boy. _I guess no one's volunteering then, _she thought with a sigh.

Joel reached his bruised hand out to her and shook it once before dropping his arm back to his side.

"Well there you have it, District Six! Your tributes for the Twentieth Hunger Games- Joel Perona and Bean Botonis!" Angelica called out to the crowd. "Let's bring home a victor this year!"

* * *

Joel yanked his arm from the peacekeepers as they took him to his goodbye room. "Get off me." He growled. "I can walk by myself."

The peacekeepers receded their grip on him and let him be as they escorted him down the hall.

Joel rubbed his arm as he looked around himself, a disgusted look on his face. The justice building was beautiful inside, sure, but it was only a mask for the terrors that lay ahead. The Hunger Games was a gory death match, and there was nothing beautiful about that. All this special treatment he was about to get was just going to make the transition into the arena that much harder.

As they neared the end of the hall, the peacekeepers opened a door on the right and Joel entered it without their help. It was decorated with expensive furniture, a crystal chandelier, and rose garlands that hung from the walls.

The peacekeepers closed the door behind him and Joel found himself alone once again. The only thing that greeted him was the silence of the room.

He let out a deep breath. _So here I am. Just my luck, huh? _He thought with a derisive roll of his eyes. He sunk into one of the plush chairs and stared at the ceiling. _I should have expected it. Trouble always has had a way of finding me._

He closed his eyes for a moment and let it all sink in before the door burst open suddenly and he was snapped out of his thoughts.

"Joel." A deep voice said.

He looked in the direction of the voice with a raised eyebrow as he saw his older brother close the door shut.

"Joel, are you okay?" His older brother asked with what looked like genuine concern.

Joel scoffed. "I'm fine." He said defensively.

His older brother went to give him a hug, but Joel jerked away from him. "Hey Jordan, how come the only time you've come see me this year was to say goodbye the day I got shipped off to the Hunger Games?" Joel asked, just diving right into the topic. "What makes today so different than all those other holidays, birthdays, and parties you've skipped out on?"

Jordan put his hands back by his side awkwardly. "I... I've just been busy, you know?" He scratched the back of his head. "My company's been getting a lot of business. You know that."

Joel glared at him for a long moment before speaking again. "So much business that you can't even stop by to say 'hi' every now and then? So much business that you couldn't even attend mom's funeral back in March? So much business that I haven't even seen your face in a whole year? Really? I don't buy that." Joel said with resentment.

"Seriously Joel? You know mom's death has been rough on m-" Jordan began.

Joel laughed in his face. "_Oh? _It's been rough on you? You didn't even show up to her funeral! You didn't even- Actually, you know what? I should have expected that from you. I really should have. You've always been selfish. You've never cared about anyone but yourself. It's always about y-"

"Not it's not! And even if I didn't show up for that, can't we put that behind us? I showed up for you today, didn't I? God, Joel, you always have to look at the bad side of things on _everything._" Jordan threw his hands up.

Joel set his jaw angrily. "You know Jordan, what makes you think you even had the right to show up today anyway?" Joel said with hostility. "Why is today different?"

"To say goodbye to you?" Jordan said as if it was obvious. "You're my brother. Of course I showed up to say goodbye."

Just then, a peacekeeper knocked on the door to let them know their time was up. "Come on, sir, it's time to go." The peacekeeper said gruffly.

Jordan looked from the peacekeeper to his brother with regretful eyes. "You know... I wish this goodbye didn't have to go this way." He sighed. "If anything, I just hoped we could rekindle-"

"Maybe if I come back then we can discuss a rekindling. But as of right now I have _business _to take care of. Surely, you can understand that." Joel said mockingly. "After all, you seem to know_ all_ about putting business before anything else."

* * *

Bean tried not to listen, but the arguing in the room next to her was just too loud to ignore. After a few long minutes though, the door slammed shut and the fighting ceased. _Man, I wonder what happened over there, _Bean wondered.

As the door over there closed, the door to her own room opened.

"Dad!" Bean cried out the moment she saw her father's face. She leapt into his open arms as her mother came in the door too.

"Oh Bean, are you alright?" He asked as he set her back down. "I didn't expect this to happen. I'm so sorry."

Bean shrugged slightly. "I-I think I'll be alright." She tried to sound sure of herself. The truth was though, she still felt confused by this whole thing. She was still trying to register that she had just been reaped. She had never really taken the Hunger Games too seriously, so she wasn't aware of just how daunting this whole thing was.

"Bean, you've always been so creative. You could make traps, and hunt, an-and all kinds of stuff." Her mom hugged her tightly, her voice trembling. "Maybe you could even make a few allies in there too."

Bean nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She said as she patted her mom on the back.

"And I know I've told you to stay out, but you've seen your dad do those autopsies. And m-maybe you could get something out of that, like how to treat wounds or something, I don't know, just anything you could've learned from it..." Her mom trailed off.

Bean looked up at her dad. His identical green eyes reflected the same sadness her mother's did. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Just try your _best _in there, Bean." He said. "Just try to come back home."

Bean nodded as her mom let go of her. "I... I will. Of course I will."

Her dad smiled sadly. "Okay. That's all I want."

* * *

**A/N: ****district six! yay i am excited to hear your thoughts and stuff!**

**and i'm sorry this update took a while, but november was a very VERY rough month. my dear uncle passed away the day after thanksgiving and it has been such a sad time for me and my family. real life has just taken up all my time lately and i didn't have time to write anything.**

**but next time i update, we will be in district seven to meet lolium and opal!**

**til then!**


	8. District Seven: Moonchild

"Okay." Opal breathed as she opened the bakery's window quietly. "You remember the plan, right?"

Her brother nodded. "I remember."

Opal gave him one small nod in return, then entered the opened window feet first. She steadied herself on a wooden counter below and used her arms to slide her torso into the window as well. "Be very quiet." She whispered to her brother as she slipped inside. "If they catch us, we're good as dead."

Opal climbed off the counter and grabbed her brother's hand as he entered the bakery after her. He took a bit longer to get inside, but she knew he was still getting the hang of it. This was only Sam's third time robbing with her. He would get better at it over time. She knew that _she_ most certainly did.

As Sam attempted to climb down the counter swiftly like his sister had, he clumsily misplaced his foot and almost went tumbling to the floor of the bakery's kitchen. Opal had guessed that he would probably trip up somewhere though and caught him before he fell completely.

Sam's breath came out in a short gasp as he froze for a moment to make sure no one had heard them sneaking in. After deeming it safe, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." He said as he hopped off the counter.

Now that they were both inside, Opal looked around herself to see what was available for taking. It was early in the morning, so the baker wasn't here to open up the shop yet. They had roughly fifteen minutes to get in and out before everyone in the district began waking up.

Looking around, she saw all kinds of things. Breads, cakes, pastries, cookies, cupcakes... There were even a few sandwiches on a tin platter, probably from yesterday.

She tossed her brother one of the bags. "Take whatever you want." She said as she opened up one for herself. "Just don't take too much. If they suspect people have been stealing from here, they'll probably make a point to keep a closer eye on the place." She explained as she shoved a loaf of cinnamon bread in her bag. "And be quick. We're on a tight schedule."

Sam nodded as he took something off the shelf and put it in his bag.

A few minutes passed by quietly as they chose what they wanted. Opal shoved a red velvet cupcake into her mouth somewhere along the line as they went along. The stuff here was so good, she easily could have eaten the whole case of cupcakes in minutes. She refrained from doing it though for the sake of concealment.

They weren't even ten minutes in when they heard a husky voice speak from a few houses away.

They both froze.

"And where did you say you saw them, miss?" The husky voice said.

"Over there. They went in through the bakery window." A woman's voice said faintly in the distance.

Opal's green eyes grew wide as she dropped her cupcake onto the floor. _She's talking about us!_

As the horrible realization set in, she turned towards Sam and saw the same terrified look reflected in his own brown eyes. The sound of several footsteps marching towards the back window grew closer, and for a moment, the two just stood frozen in fear.

She had never gotten caught before!

"Opal, w-what do we do!" Sam whispered, horrified.

Opal glanced towards the window for a second as she heard the footsteps getting closer. She knew they couldn't stay out here in the open anymore. The peacekeepers were on their way over right now! Her eyes darted around for places to hide. They could crawl under the table, into the closet, into a cabinet if they tried. Maybe-

No. They had to run. As her eyes fell on the front door, Opal suddenly realized that it was their only choice.

They were going to have to make a break for it one way or another, and the front door was right there.

Sam followed Opal's gaze to the front door and gasped. "Opal, are you insane?" He hissed at her.

The footsteps grew closer as a voice spoke from the back window. "Ah, they snuck in here." The man said. "The window's wide open."

"We don't have a choice this time." Opal whispered as she motioned him to the door. "Let's go!"

"Let's catch these suckers and toss 'em in prison where they belong." Another voice laughed from outside.

"Yeah, maybe boss would give us a bonus for that." Another one chucked.

Sam opened his mouth to respond to Opal, but that peacekeeper's words really got him. _Prison_. If they caught them, they were going straight to jail!

Suddenly without thinking, Sam ran for the front door in a mad dash and Opal quickly followed. They flung the front door open and sprinted down the street with their bags flung over their shoulders. "What was that?" A peacekeeper said from back at the bakery window.

"Hey, there they go!" Another one yelled, pointing at Sam and Opal. "Get 'em!"

Opal's eyes flew open as she picked up her speed. "Hurry Sam, they see us!" She gasped as she yanked her brother by his hand to make him run faster. They turned a corner off of the main road, but the peacekeepers saw them.

Sam gasped as he ran. "They're gonna catch us! They're peacekeepers, trained peacekeepers!" He said, out of breath. "There's no way we can outrun them. They're gonna get us!"

Opal glanced back at their running attackers for a second, then looked back, a sardonic smile on her lips. "Not if we lose them first." She said, seeing that her and Sam had a huge lead on them. "Follow me." She commanded.

Opal turned another corner and ran into the forest on her left. She knew this town like the back of her hand and she was well aware that these trees lead into a huge lumberyard that would make it easy to lose those peacekeepers.

It was a risky idea, but for her and her brother's sakes, they had to do it.

The sound of damp earth and pinecones crunched under their feet as they dashed through the trees, making several deliberate twists and turns along the way. In the distance, she heard the shouting peacekeepers follow them in. Opal yanked Sam into a thick section of the woods in hopes that it would offer them some much needed concealment. They had to jump over fallen trees and stumps, and this area was more crowded, but they managed to make it through. The bread and pastries in their bags jumped and jiggled around, weighing heavily on their shoulders.

Finally, they made it to a daunting hill. Opal knew that the lumber yard laid directly beyond it, but it was very steep. Taking a deep breath, she yanked her brother's arm and began to run up the huge slope. It took an incredible amount of resilience and will power to make it over the hill, but to both her and her brother's surprise, they eventually did.

Legs burning and gasping for breath, Opal and Sam ran down the hill and escaped into the lumber yard. A big sign that read "Buckley's Lumber Company." hung over the entrance.

After they were inside, Sam soon made it known that he couldn't go on anymore and Opal decided that they both probably needed to rest. If the peacekeepers had followed them here, then they would just have to hide.

They simply couldn't run anymore.

It wasn't until they collapsed behind a tall stack of logs, though, that Opal realized that they had lost the peacekeepers way back in the forest. She didn't hear any footsteps behind them, and she didn't hear anyone's voice yelling after them anymore. The only thing she heard was the wind blowing leaves around and her own heavy, ragged breathing.

Opal threw her head back and closed her eyes, resting against the stack of logs. "We lost them." She breathed, tossing her bag of bread onto the ground and tying her sweaty, long brown hair into a messy bun to relieve her hot neck from it's cover.

She took a few minutes to catch her breath and let her heart rate go back to normal. When she regained a normal breathing pattern, she opened her eyes again and was greeted with the beautiful blue sky and a cool breeze.

Suddenly, a few feet away, Sam began to laugh. At first it was just a soft chuckle, but it quickly turned into a full on guffaw.

Opal looked at her brother in confusion, but after a moment, she couldn't help but smile as well.

"We just outran a pack of _peacekeepers_!" Sam laughed, his face sweaty and flushed red. "We just escaped the law!"

Opal's smile stretched into a grin, and she began to laugh as well. "Oh god, we are so hardcore." She laughed as she looked into the bright morning sky. "Now we just have to get back home before the reaping."

* * *

The last time District Seven had a victor was in the Eleventh Hunger Games, nine years ago. Hansel Caraway was something of a living legend in their district, now more than ever.

He had just died.

He was an outcast before he won. The guy was really into pyromania, like _really_ into it. By fire he lived and by fire he died. He burned himself in his own fire actually.

"What are you thinking about?" A light voice asked, bringing Lolium out of his thoughts.

"How the last victor died." He answered honestly. "Basil, how would you like to die?"

Basil was taken aback a little bit by Lolium's direct question, but she should have been used to it. Her older brother had always been a peculiar boy.

That's what people liked about Lolium though. His thoughts were explicit and his words were always raw. He didn't have a filter on that rosy mouth of his and he was thoughtful, always thinking about such complex things at just fifteen years old. His sense of humor was cut and dry, making him a surprisingly funny boy.

"I guess I'd like to die in my sleep." Basil shrugged her small shoulders.

Lolium shook his head. "Not me." He said evenly. "When I die, I want to actually feel death. I want to be poisoned or cut open. Maybe even die in a plane crash. Who knows. After all, you only die once." He said dreamily. "I don't want to miss out on the experience."

Basil rolled her eyes at her brother's wild imagination as she opened the windows, letting some fresh air into the kitchen. The breeze flew into the room and brushed Lolium's flaxen blonde hair away from his forehead.

Basil never questioned her brother. She was far too timid to delve into his psyche.

"I wonder what it would be like to die." Lolium continued. "I read in a book once that you see a white light or something, but I've also read that you can actually feel your soul being extracted from your body. Isn't that cool?" He asked Basil, his arctic blue eyes lighting up.

"Yeah sure." She sighed.

Lolium rolled his eyes at her as he rose out of his chair. "God you're boring, Basil." He grumbled as he walked out of the kitchen. His sister was no fun to converse with. She was far too reserved to understand anything he said.

A lot of people were.

* * *

Close to an hour later, Sam and Opal arrived home, sweaty and exhausted. As Opal swung the front door wide open, her and her brother entered the house and flung their bags down onto the kitchen table.

Opal let out a heavy sigh. "Woo, that was the hardest I've ran in a long time." She said, exasperated.

Sam wiped off his forehead and sighed as well. "We got lucky this time."

Opal nodded in agreement. They _had_ cut it pretty close today. If they hadn't gotten away from those peacekeepers... Oh man, she didn't even want to think about it. They would've been toast.

Just then, their mother came from around the corner, her hair half done. "Where in the hell have you two been? It's nearly nine o'clock and- oh my god, you guys look awful! What have you been doing?"

Opal looked down as she dumped her bag of bread out of the table. "We went grocery shopping." She said dryly.

Sam giggled, but their mother just shook her head at them. "You know that I don't like it when you steal things." She said, disappointment clear in her voice.

Opal laughed humorlessly as she dumped Sam's bag out onto the table too. "Well we've gotta eat, you know."

Her mother sighed. She wanted to say something back, but unfortunately, she knew Opal was right. They _did_ have to eat one way or another. Whether it was tesserae or thievery, food was food. "Alright kids..." She sighed. "Just be ready for the reaping soon." She said as she disappeared around the corner again.

Opal was about to sit down for a moment to relax, but out of nowhere, she heard a crashing noise coming from her room. She jerked her head up and looked at Sam, confused. "What the.." She said under her breath as she dashed for her room.

She rushed down the hall to find her door already open. Anger flooded her system as she saw a familiar blonde head throwing pillows on the floor.

"Get out of my room!" Opal shrieked as she saw one of her older brothers, Ben, flipping over her mattress, looking for something apparently.

"Where is my new book set! I know you stole it!" He yelled back at her as he continued to ransack her room.

"What- Why would I want your books?" Opal raised her voice, seeing that he was totally trashing her room. "I don't have them! Get out!"

He opened her closet angrily. "Not until I find it. I paid forty silver coins for that set and I'm not leaving without them."

Opal's face contorted into one of pure anger as she watched him throw some of her clothes out of her closet. Suddenly, she charged for her older brother and yanked him by the arm. "Get out of my freaking room!" She yelled at him as she shoved him towards the door.

"Hey don't shove me!" He yelled at her, shoving her back.

"Get out!" She yelled as she suddenly sent her fist flying for his jaw.

It was an obvious move though, and he caught her hand mid air before she could hit him. "Are you serious?" He laughed breathlessly, shocked that she was already trying to hit him. "Mom, she's hitting me!" Ben called out.

After a moment, their mother burst out of the bathroom, still in her robe. "Hey!" She yelled frantically. "Cut it out, you two! What are you? Five?" She raised her voice at the sight of her two oldest kids fighting.

"She took my new set of-" Ben began to yell.

"I don't care what she took! We don't hit each other to solve problems! Ben, get out of her room, and Opal, you still haven't even began to get ready yet! Quit this fighting and get ready for the reaping! Both of you!" Mother yelled at them. "We'll solve this when we get back home."

Ben, looking extremely angry, was about to say something, but instead, he just knocked a cup of pens off of her dresser before storming out of the room, fists clenched. After an angry look, her mother walked back down the hall as well to finish getting ready.

With a frustrated sigh, Opal knelt down to pick the spilled pens off the floor. This wasn't the first time Ben had misplaced something and blamed it on her. This also hadn't been the first time she had been in a fist fight. It wasn't even close to being the worst one either.

She'd had it much worse.

* * *

The town square in District Seven was relatively spacious. It was one of the largest districts, after District Eleven, so it had to accommodate a lot of people.

Lolium had always found the reapings rather fascinating. Usually, the people of the district were scattered out across the land far and wide, doing all kids of different things. To have everyone in one little town square even just for one hour really put it into perspective just how many people were in his community.

The crowd was getting very thick with every passing minute as people kept filing into the reaping pens alongside him. Being fifteen years old, Lolium was right in the middle of the crowd. Everyone was separated by age, with the oldest kids being in the front and the youngest ones being in the back. And even though he wasn't very close to the stage, he could still see the people that meandered around on it. The escort, Paprika, was dressed as what reminded Lolium of a woodland goddess. He had read a book about one once. She was kind of like the queen of the forest, but she was killed by goblins when they tried to take over her kingdom. It was quiet tragic really.

Paprika wore a moss green dress that was gracefully draped over one shoulder and flowed down to her feet. Her jewelry was all shades of forest green and black, adding a darker feel. She wore black pearls and dark diamonds on her throat, arms, and fingers. Her hair was clipped back and she wore a hairpiece of succulents and bark on the side of her head. The rest of her hair cascaded down her back in loose waves. All that was missing was the wings and she would be the spitting image of the woodland fairy queen from the book.

Behind Paprika was the mayor and his wife. On the other side of the stage sat the two remaining District Seven victors. Hansel would have made three, but he was dead now. Hansel had killed three people in his games.

Lolium had always wondered what it would be like to kill someone. He didn't identify himself as sadistic or whatever, but he didn't like to limit his imagination either. It was interesting to think about.

Soon, the reaping began and Paprika rolled a film about the Dark Days and whatever. Lolium didn't pay attention to that though. He was too lost in his imagination.

Two new tributes were about to be pulled from District Seven. He couldn't imagine who they would be. It could be the boy next to him. It could be the girl across from him. It could be Basil for all he knew. Whoever it was though, it would be a fresh face and a new competitor. One that was about to go on the ride of their life.

Last year, Aspen and Petunia were reaped. Two little, gullible kids. Twelve year olds. The logical part of Lolium knew that they wouldn't win, but the optimistic part of him still had hope. If they did the right thing at the right time, one of them could have won.

After the film ended, Paprika cleared her throat and brought everyone's eyes back to the stage. "Without further ado, it is time to choose one boy and girl to compete in this year's Hunger Games. Let's start with the ladies."

Paprika walked over to the girls' bowl and took her time choosing a slip. After a minute, she finally pulled one out of the front of the bowl and walked back to the microphone, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor of the stage.

"Opal Palais." She called out.

As Paprika's words echoed across the town square, they settled in the air and Lolium looked around for whoever this "Opal" was.

After a long moment, there was some movement up in the seventeen year old's section. A tall figure moved swiftly through the crowd, emerging with her eyes narrowed. As Lolium saw her face, he realized that she was an absolutely beautiful girl! She had long, brown hair and these awesome bottle green eyes. She looked tough and steady. She looked like she could be a real competitor!

As she stepped onto the stage, Paprika shook her hand. "Oh, you must be Opal!" Paprika grinned.

Opal rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no shit." She said, irritated by such a stupid question.

A few people in the crowd laughed under their breath, but Lolium was already thinking about something else. His gaze was turned up towards the sky, dreamily thinking about it. The open air was so blue and vast. He had often wondered what it would be like to fly through it, in a hovercraft perhaps.

There was no way he would be able to do that here in Seven. Maybe if he lived in District Six...

Soon, Paprika was walking towards the boys' bowl and fishing out another slip. Lolium's gaze drifted back onto her as he watched her bring it back towards the microphone and unfold it.

"Simon Haynes."

Lolium watched absently as a boy way back in the twelve year old section began crying and a pair of peacekeepers went to retrieve him. They began walking up to the stage as he wailed for his mommy.

Lolium blinked slowly, imagining this boy in the arena. Realistically, he wouldn't last too long. He sure as hell wouldn't win. Aspen and Petunia didn't. How could he? This boy looked terrified.

Lolium, on the other hand, liked to imagine what it would be like to be in the Hunger Games. Hundreds of thousands of people watching him on national television. It must be grand in a way. His every move, live for the world to see. Close ups of his face on screens across the nation, every tear, every smile, every blood streaked angle captured on television. People rooting for him, people hating him, people just knowing who he was... It was so intriguing to think about. People never paid him any attention here.

What if he did volunteer? It was so strange to him how just a few words could change his life... They were just words.

"I volunteer." He said softly, trying it out for size. He wanted to see how it sounded coming from his voice.

A few boys turned and looked at him. And soon, other people began to glance his way too. _Did they hear me? Gosh, oh well._

"I-I volunteer!" He called out louder this time.

There was silence in the square as Lolium stood there with wide eyes.

Wait... Did he just volunteer?

Oh well, he would figure it out later. As he walked up to the stage, he smiled at the escort. Finally, all eyes were on him.

"My, I believe we have a volunteer!" Paprika stuttered, astonished. The little boy, Simon, stopped wailing and looked at Lolium like he was his savior. The peacekeepers escorted him back to the twelve year old section and Lolium was left up there by himself.

"What is your name, dear?" Paprika asked, holding out the microphone.

"Lolium King." He said simply. "Hi." He seemed happy.

It would all be fine. He was sick of District Seven anyway.

Maybe this would be fun.

* * *

"Opal!" Sam cried as he burst into the justice building.

Opal looked up to see her younger brother running towards her with open arms. As he crashed into her, she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

She didn't know what to say. What could she say? She had just been reaped. She had basically just been given a death sentence. As Sam cried into her shoulder, she could only let out a deep sigh. "Don't cry, Sammy." She tried to soothe him. "Come on, you know that won't help anything."

Sam pulled away and wiped the tears off his face. "I-I just can't believe this is happening!" He gasped through his tears. "How-how did this happen?" He searched her face, looking for an answer.

Just then, the door flew open again and her mother and older brother entered the room as well.

"Opal, I'm sorry for pushing you, I swear I am!" Ben cried as he wrapped his arms around her and Sam.

Opal let out a breathless laugh. "I promise you, that's the furthest thing from my mind right now." She said as she patted her older brother on the back. Her mother wrapped them in a hug as well.

"But Opal," Sam brought her attention back to him. "How did this happen? What-what are we going to do without you?" He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Opal peeled her brothers off of her. "Well I'll tell you what you're gonna do." She said evenly. "You're not going to take _any_ more tesserae, you're gonna be more careful stealing, and you're gonna look out for one another. Got it?" She looked at both of her brothers seriously. "Sam, you're only fourteen. You've got your whole _life _ahead of you. You're not gonna throw it away for an extra bag of grain every month. It's not worth it."

Sam wiped more tears off of his cheeks and nodded.

"And Ben, this was your last reaping. God, I mean you're good for the rest of your life now! You may not be eligible for tesserae or whatever anymore, but you _are_ eligible for a full time job in the lumber yard. Man, you won't even need to steal anymore once you're making enough money."

Ben looked down and shook his head. "I'd rather go back to stealing every day than have you taken away from us." He mumbled.

"I know." Opal sighed. "But it's just the way things work out."

Ben looked up and out the window, frustration clear in his blue eyes. "It didn't have to though. We could have done something. I don't know what, but I just... I just don't understand why _you_ had to be the one to get called this year. There are thousands of other girls in the district. It didn't have to be you. It really didn't."

Opal shrugged. "Well it's too late now for that kind of thinking." She said bitterly.

Silence filled the room and there was a long, quiet gap before she spoke again.

"So I guess I'm just gonna have to win."

* * *

"Lolium, what the hell is wrong with you!"

Lolium jerked his head up to see his mother flying through the door, crying. Basil was behind her as well, looking extremely surprised and confused.

"Wha-" Lolium began to say, but his mother was already squeezing the breath out of him in a tight hug.

"Why would you volunteer? Why would you do that?" His mother said as she cupped his face in her hands.

Lolium looked at his mom. He didn't know what to say. "I... I don't know. I just had the urge... And before I knew what I was saying..." He said, a far away look in his eyes.

His mom rolled her eyes at him before crying some more. "You've always been too impulsive, but this time... This time you've really done it!" She cried out. "You've always done stupid things, took stupid risks, but dear god, Lolium! Why would you volunteer?" She threw her hands up in the air.

Lolium shrugged as he shifted in his chair nervously. "I guess I just wanted some excitement." He said. "An adventure. I don't know, mom. I'm just sick of living a dead end life in District Seven." He said, his brow furrowed. "What am I gonna do when I'm done with school? Work in the lumber yard? Cut down trees? I don't... I don't think I wanna do that." He said, deep in thought.

His mother continued to cry, this time more out of frustration than anything. "But honey, did you even _consider_ the consequences of this?" She asked him.

Lolium shrugged. "No."

"Then why would you volunteer for a death match?" She demanded.

He shrugged, frowning slightly. "I don't know. I just wanted to do something exciting... I just wanted to get out of here for a while."

* * *

**A/N: hey guys i've had this awesome thought for a long time, but I thought i was the only one. ok so you know how there were 73 previous hunger games before katniss's games and people on here write stories about what would've happened in each one? dumb question, cuz you're reading one right now, but anyways.. well i was on youtube and i came across some short films that were like syots in movie form and it is so freaking cool. wouldn't it be sick if we took some our fave stories from ON HERE and turned them in films? don't you think that would be cool? AHHHHHHH.**

**maybe when I get a high quality camera, we could do that haha**

**oh and happy new year! anyways, lolium and opal are such three deminsional, multifaceted characters and i can't wait to hear what you think about them. i really enjoyed writing this chapter and i'm thrilled to dive deeper into the story.**

**up next is district eight!**

**til then!**


	9. District Eight: Hard Head

As his alarm rang, Oliver snapped his eyes open, startled. He attempted to adjust his eyes to the morning sunlight, but his vision was still blurry and unclear. He tiredly reached over to his nightstand and fumbled around until his hands landed on his glasses.

He placed the big, rectangular glasses over his eyes and blinked until everything became clear again. Oliver knew his eyewear didn't exactly make a fashion icon or a hit with the ladies, but without them he wouldn't be able to see _anything_. Oliver was as blind as a bat.

With a yawn, he sat up and stretched his stiff limbs.

"Oliver, we're leaving in fifteen minutes!" His mother called from downstairs, causing him to flinch uncomfortably.

Fifteen minutes! That was barely any time at all!

Oliver scrambled out of bed and yanked his clothes off the foot of his bed. He shoved his legs into his pants and tossed a clean t-shirt over his head as well. After he put on his socks and shoes, he flung his bedroom door open and hurried to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As he scrubbed his teeth vigorously with the toothbrush, he was careful to get into the spaces around his braces as well. After he was done, he smiled widely in the mirror and was greeted with the reflection of a boy who still looked like he was in middle school.

Oliver had a broad smile and messy blonde hair. His rather large, heavy framed black glasses sat perfectly askew upon his little nose. His cheeks had a youthful roundness to them as well, giving him an almost cherubic appearance. A lot of people said he looked like a kid, but he tried not to pay them too much attention.

Oliver had a small frame and was no taller than 5'4. He actually did possess some hidden power though. He was by no means muscular, but he wasn't a little weakling either.

His mom called his name again and Oliver set the toothbrush down and barreled down the steps. His older sister, Aurelia, was already waiting by the door with her arms crossed. Their mother was helping their little brother into a shirt, not sparing Oliver a second glance.

"Are we leaving already?" Oliver asked with wide eyes as he grabbed something to eat off the table.

"You two are." She said as she tried to contain the wiggling six year old. "We'll catch up with you at the reaping. We aren't anywhere close to being ready yet." She said, managing a humorless laugh.

Oliver watched his dancing brother try to escape their mom for a moment longer before he shrugged his shoulders. "Alright." He said lightly, heading for the door.

His sister opened it up and the two of them walked out of their house. The air was chilly and cold and the sky was bleak. It wasn't even eight o'clock in the morning yet. Oliver had heard that Districts like One and Two didn't have to start their reapings until eleven and it really wasn't fair. By then, it would surely be bright and warm outside. Everything was cold and dim at this time of morning.

As the two Abel children walked out of their subdivision and into the open road, Oliver tried to converse with Aurelia, but she wasn't having it. She just kept rolling her eyes at him and he just kept carrying on and on, not realizing that he was annoying her.

They were two very different people, being bound by blood, and blood only.

Aurelia was the pretty one, the popular one, the polar _opposite_ of Oliver. Sometimes, he wondered how they were even related at all.

Aurelia had long blonde hair and brown eyes. She was the star of the field hockey team at school and had a ton of friends. She never really seemed to struggle with anything. Everything came naturally for her.

Oliver on the other hand, didn't have many friends or very good luck either for that matter. The kids at school liked to pick on him and he always seemed to get the short end of the stick. He wrestled at school, but he was never given any chances to show his strength or skills because the other guys always pushed him around and never took him seriously. Luck was never on his side. Nothing ever really was.

But he was still an upbeat and happy kind of guy. He always seemed to bounce back after a while.

As the two entered the town square, Aurelia separated from her brother quickly and disappeared into the crowd of people. As Oliver looked around for where the check in table could be, someone shoved past him, almost causing him to fall backwards.

"Watch it nerd." An older guy's voice said.

He didn't know who said it, and didn't have time to look either, because someone else had shoved him out of the way as well. Eventually, he was pushed into the check in line and people stopped shoving him when he was finally out of their way.

Oliver took a deep breath as he wedged himself in the corner by the edge of the ropes. He felt so small in this crowd of people. For a moment there, he actually felt really disposable.

People treated him like this all the time though. He was used to it.

* * *

It was a cool, grey day in District Eight and the vague smell of smoke lingered lightly in the distance. As Piper walked down the gravel road, she took deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold morning air.

The other kids walking down the street were clearly scared stiff, but Piper wasn't among their ranks. She had four other eventless reapings under her belt, and this one would probably make a fifth. Looking around, she saw that even if the pool of eligible tributes was cut down to the kids walking down the street with her right now, she still didn't even have a ten percent chance of being reaped. Everything would be just fine. It _always_ turned out just fine.

If anything, Piper just wanted to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible. She had things to do. The reaping was just an annoyance in the way.

"You are so arrogant." Her sister scoffed, walking beside her.

Piper looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"You can't just count yourself out of the reaping like you're some superior being or something. What makes you think that the bowl cares how many slips you have? All it takes is _one_ slip. One stroke of bad luck." Adrienne said dramatically, her blonde hair tousled by the wind. Piper had just been explaining her theory of surviving the bowl to her older sister, who was beyond nervous about surviving her last reaping.

Piper rolled her eyes. "But what are the odds? What, like point zero one percent? Chill out Adrienne. We're gonna be fine."

"I'm going to laugh when you get reaped." Adrienne continued, a smile her face.

Piper looked at her sister, a sly smirk crossing her face. "Alright, if you say so." She laughed.

As the two girls entered the town square, it seemed like most of the district was already there. People were bustling around, checking in, talking. There was a lot of chaos and the reaping hadn't even started yet.

Piper shrugged and waved goodbye to her sister as they went their separate ways. Piper shouldered her way towards the check in line, making slow progress in such a thick crowd.

At some point, a girl shoved her out of the way and Piper shoved her right back.

"What is your problem!" Piper yelled at the girl over the noise of the crowd.

"Get out of the way!" The girl yelled back, her neatly plucked eyebrows raised in surprise that someone would dare challenge her.

Piper was about to respond when another person elbowed their way between the girls, shoving them _both_ out of the way. When Piper looked back, the girl had melted back into the crowd, out of sight.

With a roll of her eyes, Piper turned around and continued moving forward. Girls were so catty.

* * *

Oliver stood in the middle of the crowd with the rest of the fifteen year olds. Some guys from school stood a few spaces down from him and he waved at them excitedly. When they saw him, some of them began to laugh quietly. Oliver tried to start a conversation with the group of boys, joking about the weather, but they just rolled their eyes and went back to ignoring him instead.

Oliver brushed it off though and turned his head towards the stage. _No big deal_, He thought to himself with a shrug.

He had to stand on his toes just to see over the heads in front of him. He caught a glimpse of the stage and saw the lone District Eight victor sitting in the back, then the mayor, his wife, and the escort, Delphine, who was blowing kisses at the crowd. Delphine wore a long, lavender gown made of satin and had little purple roses incorporated into her hair.

After a few minutes, she tapped on the microphone and greeted the crowd.

"Good morning, good morning! It is time for the Twentieth Annual Hunger Games to begin, but first we must chose one young boy and one young girl to compete in honor of representing District Eight!" She grinned. "Let's begin with the boys!"

Delphine walked gracefully to the bowl and drew a slip right out of the middle. She smiled at the crowd as she held the piece of paper in the air.

"Let's see who we have here..." Delphine said to herself as she unfolded the slip of paper. "Hmm... Oliver Abel!"

Someone behind him laughed breathlessly and Oliver smiled slightly too, assuming that something funny was happening. After a moment of silence, Delphine spoke again.

"Oliver Abel!" She repeated.

Oliver's smile quickly faded.

That was him.

Almost as if on queue, the boys around him began to look his way. Oliver's eyes darted around, seeing a display of expressions on their faces. Some looked surprised, some amused, some regretful. After a moment though, they began parting away, exposing him completely.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. So with a nervous laugh, he stumbled out of the crowd and into the isle.

He could feel his face grow hot and red as he walked towards the stage. Silence settled over the town square. It was so quiet that Oliver could hear his own breath and the sound of blood pulsing in his ears.

As he approached the stage, Delphine reached her hand out to him and squealed with excitement.

"Oh aren't you are just adorable!" She grinned as she helped Oliver onto the stage.

He tried to smile, but he couldn't make himself do it. He was terrified. He was in shock. He was going to die.

Delphine clapped quickly and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Amazing! Now that we have our male tribute, let's choose the female!"

Oliver suddenly felt a tear fall down his cheek from behind his glasses as Delphine walked towards the girls bowl. _Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying,_ he commanded himself.

"Piper Rosenthal!" Delphine announced into the microphone, her words vibrating through the floorboards of the stage.

Oliver saw a girl in the sixteen year old's section flinch at the sound of her name. All he could see was was a dark brown ponytail.

_That's her,_ He realized, watching as the crowd parted for her as well.

She slipped into the aisle swiftly, looking utterly shocked and baffled. After a second though, the confusion disappeared from her face and was replaced with unreadable expression instead. It was unclear exactly what she was thinking anymore.

"Piper!" A girl cried out weakly from the eighteen year old's section. "Piper, wait!"

Oliver watched as a blonde girl shouldered her way to the edge of the pen desperately, tears in her eyes. As she passed the girl's section, Oliver saw Piper shake her head sharply at the girl in the pen.

Tears streamed down the blonde girl's face and she continued to cry. Piper just walked past her and stepped onto the stage emotionlessly.

Delphine grinned like a maniac as she shook her hand quickly. "Oh hello, hello! It's so nice to meet you!" She greeted her enthusiastically. "Congratulations!"

The girl just rolled her eyes as she took her place next to Oliver.

"Well there you have it, District Eight! Your two tributes for this year's Hunger Games- Piper Rosenthal and Oliver Abel!" Delphine declared into the microphone proudly. "Tributes, shake hands."

Delphine smiled at them and Piper reached out and shook Oliver's hand firmly. He avoided all eye contact at first, but then looked up to see a pair of startling icy blue eyes with dark ringed irises staring right back at him.

"Well, good luck." The girl said gruffly as she dropped her hand back by her side.

Oliver nodded. Good luck. Yeah. He was going to need it.

* * *

His parents were the first to come see him. His mother stood in the back as his father engulfed him in a hug. Oliver wasn't sure what to say to him, so he just began to sob instead.

"Hey," his father soothed. "It's gonna be okay. Don't you cry."

Oliver took his glasses off and wiped his eyes. "How can you say that, dad? I'm a goner. I'm a complete goner!"

"No you're not and don't you ever think that. You still have a chance, Oliver. The games haven't even begun yet." His father immediately rejected the idea of his son's possible death. There was no way he could lose him. It wasn't in the realm of possibility. It couldn't be.

In the other corner of the room, his mother cried silently with her head down. Oliver had never seen her cry before, well not over him anyways. He had always thought that the woman hated him.

"Mom?" Oliver tried to say, but it came out more like a whisper.

"Come on, buddy. Chin up." His dad said, forcing a smile. "I believe in you and I need you to do the same." He said.

Oliver nodded, looking down. He didn't believe in himself. No, not right now.

It was quiet for a moment before his father spoke again.

"But, just please..." his father began, sadness leaking into his voice. "Please come back to us."

Those words twanged painfully in Oliver's heart for some reason and he looked up to see his father's sorrowful aging eyes and his mother's crying face in the background, and he felt somewhat responsible.

It wasn't his fault, he knew that, but it _would_ be his fault if he died in there without even putting up a fight. And it suddenly became crystal clear. He needed to come back home. For his family, for himself. And if he couldn't do it, then he had to at least try.

"I'll try to come back, dad." Oliver nodded, his voice soft. "I'll try my best."

* * *

"Hey I thought you said you were gonna laugh when I got reaped." Piper smiled sadly as her sister burst into the room, crying.

"Oh shut up, Piper!" Adrienne sobbed as she flew into her arms.

"Sorry." Piper muttered.

Adrienne squeezed the life out of her in a tight hug and cried into her shoulder. "I wanted to volunteer for you, I did!" She wailed. "But y-you told me not to and I didn't... I wish I did though."

Piper laughed breathlessly. "No you don't. We both know that you wouldn't survive two seconds in the Hunger Games." She broke apart from her sister. "And I wouldn't have let you volunteer for me anyway."

Adrienne wiped the tears off her face. "You would have done the same for me." She said solemnly.

Piper couldn't help but nod. It was true.

If Adrienne had been the one to get reaped, Piper would have plowed her way into the isle to stop her in an instant. It's the way she was. Even if they were scratching, clawing, and ripping each other's hair out one minute, Piper would still always be there to save her sister from someone else. She was a protector, a defender. She would take a bullet for her loved ones.

And Adrienne knew that all too well. That's why she didn't volunteer.

"It's gonna be fine. I'm coming back home, okay? I am." Piper said evenly. "Stop crying."

Adrienne nodded. "I just wish it didn't have to be this way." She said sadly.

Piper sighed. "It is though." She said curtly. "So all there's left to do is win."

Her sister wiped more tears off her face. "Just don't go down without a fight, Piper." She said softly. "Please."

A sudden smirk crossed Piper's face at the irony of those words. Adrienne didn't even have to say that because both of them knew all too well that she was going to fight tooth and nail to win anyway.

Piper _never_ went down without a fight.

Ever.

* * *

**A/N: ****i wrote about 50 scenes for these guys and could never quite get their characters right with any of them. in most of them, piper was too rebellious or rude and oliver was too annoying, but finally i settled on this. i hope it's alright.**

**and we are 2/3 done with the reapings! yes! it takes me forever to write the reapings because i want each character's first impression to be a good representation of who they are and it takes multiple takes for me to end up with something i like.**

**and i think i'm gonna fire up the blog for this story today, but i won't be posting the link until the games actually start for the sake of concealment. even though i think it's fairly obvious that i have a hard time hiding what the arenas are going to be for my stories :/**

**but anyways, up next is district nine!**

**til then! :)**


	10. District Nine: The Gemini Twins

When Nan and Lux were born, it had been a surprise. Their parents had thought there was only one baby, but there were really two.

When the day came, Mr. Padilla was sitting in the waiting room, smoking a cigarette with all the other expecting fathers. He was a broad, muscular man with curling blonde hair and a protruding lower jaw, making him look tough.

And he _was_ tough, even today.

The click-clack of high heels filled the room as a nurse in a white dress stepped through the double doors and pulled out a wooden clipboard. "Padilla family." she called out.

Mr. Padilla snapped upright and rose out of his seat. "That's me." He said in his deep, husky voice.

"This way." The nurse said as she led him out the double doors.

"How's the baby?" Mr. Padilla asked.

"They're just fine."

Mr. Padilla stopped walking. "They?"

The nurse also stopped walking and lightly smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Oh silly me, i forgot to inform you. Your wife, um, she had... twins."

Mr. Padilla was seized with shock. Two babies! How did this happen?

The nurse began walking again. "This way." She said as she turned a corner and opened a door.

Bright light poured in through the the windows.

Identical cries filled the room.

Mr. Padilla fainted.

* * *

The twins always wanted each other's company. Whenever mother looked down into their small wooden crib, she would always see the same exact thing. They nestled their baby-flesh soft bodies underneath blue cotton blankets, curled in each other's embrace.

They were always together, from the very day they were born.

"They're smaller than they should be." Their father would say, but mother paid him no attention. The twins stopped coming in for lunch a month ago, preferring to dance outside by the nearby trees in the rain.

Father threatened to beat the smithereens out of them with a belt, and they went skittering back out into the rain through wails, trembling in each other's arms.

The twins were never apart. Ever. They would cling to one another, spindling fingers gripping clean, cotton clothes. Always leaning, tugging, murmuring in some elfish tone they had learned to comprehend only from each other.

And at twelve years old, their first reaping had finally arrived. It was a pleasant day in May, but the mood was tense. The boys ate their small breakfast of flax seed bread and oatmeal while mother ran a comb through their blonde hair. No one spoke. Their mother hummed a tune to keep the silence away.

Nan and Lux were aware of what the Hunger Games were, but only vaguely. They didn't like to spend too much time thinking about it. There was too much blood. They didn't like that word though. To them, it was rubies. There were too many rubies.

The Hunger Games was a death match.

And today, both boys were eligible of facing it's wrath.

* * *

_Whoosh_

Sawyer took a swing with her scythe, bringing down a few stalks of wheat.

_Whoosh_

With another mighty swing, she cut through the base of the plant and more wheat came tumbling onto the ground.

She gathered the stalks and tossed them in the wheelbarrow next to her. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and shoved her hair out of her face.

_One more bundle and I'll be done,_ She thought tiredly.

With a sigh, she tossed her head back and looked up into the early morning sky. It was such a beautiful sunrise. Rays of sunlight beamed from behind the forming clouds and the sky was streaked with pink and orange. It was something you'd only see this early in the morning. Something not many people were awake to witness.

While most girls in the district were probably just waking up right now, Sawyer had just finished piling a wheelbarrow full of wheat on her family's farm. The more she helped out, the more allowance she got, so she helped out every morning before school.

But there was no school today. There was the reaping.

As the thought creeped up on her, it sent a shiver down her spine, making her flinch uncomfortably.

Dismissing the idea of the reaping, she took another stalk of wheat down with her scythe and tossed it into the wheel barrow. After a few more swings, she looked down and realized that she had fulfilled her quota for the day a few bundles ago.

With a relieved smile, Sawyer heaved the wheelbarrow out of it's crook in the dirt and began to make her way back to her house, satisfied with her effort.

* * *

Close to an hour and a half later, Sawyer found herself standing in front of the mirror, clean as a whistle. With a sigh, she gazed at her reflection as if in a daze.

Her golden brown hair was combed out and done in a loose braid that fell over her shoulder, there was no more dirt on her face, and she wasn't wearing her patched up overalls anymore. In fact, she was wearing a dress. Yes, a dress. It was a simple white one that fell just below her knees, and she didn't like it.

She never did like anything girly.

And even though her face was clean as could be, little freckles still remained splattered all over her sun kissed cheeks and nose. They wouldn't fade no matter how hard she scrubbed her face.

"Sawyer, let's go!" Her brother's familiar voice yelled at her from down the hall.

Snapping out of her daze, Sawyer blinked and dashed down the hallway to the front door.

"Oh look at you." One of her older brothers, Gideon, said in a mocking voice. "Aren't you just _precious_."

Sawyer gave him a dirty look before flinging the front door open. "Shut up, ass face." She grumbled as her and her brothers walked out the door.

"No really. With that dress on, you actually look like a girl." He teased her as another one of her brothers, Simon, snickered along with him.

Sawyer just rolled her brown eyes and ignored them as they walked down the dirt road to the town square.

The walk was long, but she didn't mind. All that work in the field had made her strong. Sawyer had a relatively thin frame, but she possessed a lot of resilience. She had the makings to be a great worker one day.

The bright sunshine beat down on their heads as they entered the town square, making their hair hot to the touch. Sweaty bodies filled the reaping area, adding to the uncomfortable heat. Most people were already in their pens so the line was short. Sawyer wiped the sweat off her forehead as she stepped into the check in line, Simon and Gideon right behind her.

Sawyer looked out into the crowd, deep in thought while she waited in line. "Who do you think it's gonna be this year?" She asked her brothers.

Simon, the middle child, shrugged his broad shoulders. "Who knows, it could be anyone. It'll probably be one of the homeless kids or something though. They always take out the most tesserae."

Gideon rolled his eyes and smirked. "It'll probably be you, Simon." He giggled like a little girl.

Simon shoved his older brother backwards. "Shut up." He mumbled.

Soon, the line moved forward and Sawyer was up next. She let the peacekeeper woman zap her finger with some sort of electric needle and stamped it onto a piece of paper. It hurt a little, but that was the farthest thing from her mind right now.

"Next," the woman said flatly as Sawyer was shoved out of the line by another peacekeeper.

As she entered the madness of the town square, she looked back for her brothers, but they had disappeared behind the crowd of people she now stood in the middle of. With a sigh, she began to elbow her way to the fourteen year old's section.

It didn't take long to find. The fourteen year olds were close to the back. Sawyer made room for herself in the pen and slipped into a spot next to the ropes.

The girls around her were fidgeting with nerves, especially the little twelve and thirteen year olds that stood behind her. The tension was thick in the crowd, but Sawyer tried not to even look at anyone. She had this strange theory that if she didn't make eye contact with anyone then maybe it would lessen her chances of getting reaped. Perhaps it would make her blend in with everyone else more.

Sawyer's eyes abruptly darted to the stage though when there was a loud tap on the microphone a few minutes later.

The escort, Valentina, stood on the platform, smiling expectantly at the crowd. She looked happy and excited, but she was only met with the dull faces of hungry children and sunburnt field workers. Very few people mirrored her enthusiasm.

It didn't deter her though. She was still thrilled to be back as an escort for the third year in a row. It was going to be so much fun to take part in another Hunger Games for her. Every year just got better and better!

Valentina's hair was dyed a deep shade of magenta and pulled half up. She wore a short and strapless mint blue dress, and she was also dripping in gold jewelry. Even her cheekbones and eyebrows were dotted with little gold rhinestones.

She stuck out like a sore thumb in District Nine.

"Hello beautiful children and welcome to the Twentieth Annual Hunger Games." Valentina smiled, her Capitol accent prominent. "We are gathered here today to select two brave tributes to represent District Nine in a glorious battle to the _death_."

Girls around her squirmed uncomfortably at Valentina's last word, but Sawyer tried not to pay them any attention. It wouldn't be her. It wouldn't be. And it wouldn't be Simon or Gideon either. They would be safe this year.

"Let's switch things up and start with the boys this time." Valentina declared as she crossed the gap to the bowl on the left. Swiftly, she reached her long magenta nails into the bowl and touched several slips with the tip of her fingers before settling on one in the very back.

She unfolded it carefully before bringing the microphone back to her lips.

"Nan Padilla!"

Silence settled across the square.

It wasn't any of her brothers. That was good. It wasn't good for whoever Nan was though. She looked towards the boys pen with a raised eyebrow, wondering who it could be. The name was unfamiliar, but maybe it was for the better.

Suddenly, there was some movement in the back and Sawyer watched as peacekeepers trailed two identical boys across the edges of the crowd.

The boys were small and elfin, elbowing their way through the bystanders, apparently trying to run away.

"Come on, Nan!" the blonder one, Lux, said to his brother.

Nan was clutching onto his twin's hand tightly. "We're gonna escape." He breathed.

The two had just passed the outskirts of the bystanders when a burly peacekeeper hauled Nan over his broad shoulder and began to drag him away from his brother.

"Nice try kid." The peacekeeper laughed in a deep, rough voice.

"Give me back my brother!" Lux howled as another peacekeeper grabbed him from behind, separating the two even farther apart. "What are you doing? Don't take Nan! No! No, let me go with him. I want to go with him!" Lux cried desperately, tears beginning to spill out of his eyes. "Get off me!"

He began to kick, but it was no use. They were both very small boys and even their hardest kick wouldn't make these peacekeepers flinch.

As Lux howled wildly, Sawyer watched as the reaped one, Nan, began to cry over the other peacekeeper's shoulder. He was hauled up the steps and tossed down next to Valentina. The boy tried to run again as soon as he was set down, but the same peacekeeper picked him back up and placed him right where he was before.

"Well, um, a dramatic departure," Valentina struggled to find the right words. "But it is now time for the girls! Let's carry on." She moved forward with the ceremony quickly.

Sawyer watched Nan with raised eyebrows as he cried on the stage. Lux was still howling like they had chopped his arm off while the peacekeepers marched him to the back of the crowd with the rest of the twelve year olds. At some point, his wailing got too distracting and a peacekeeper clamped his hand over his mouth to muffle his voice.

Sawyer watched absently as Valentina crossed the gap to the girls' bowl and swirled her fingers over the top of the slips before pulling one out. As Valentina plucked a slip out of the middle, Sawyer felt an odd sinking sensation in her stomach. She had a horrible feeling for some reason. It was almost as if she knew what was coming.

Almost as if...

"Sawyer Ambrose."

Almost as if she knew it was her.

Sawyer looked up at the stage inquisitively. Had they read her mind? How did they know to choose her the minute she started doubting herself? This couldn't be real. No, there was no such thing as mind reading. Perhaps it was just intuition?

Sawyer stared at the stage in a daze for a moment longer before a girl nudged her. "That's you." She said, her voice a timid whisper.

It _was_ real. She had really been chosen.

Sawyer snapped out of her daze and nodded with a frown. She ducked under the rope and stumbled into the isle.

Just like she had searched for the boy, Nan, when he was reaped, people were probably searching for her too now. Well they found her. Here she was, no one spectacular or prestigious. No one that anyone knew. She was just a skinny little farm girl.

Only now, things were different. She had a new title.

Tribute.

Her knees began to tremble at that word. It was a word she had dodged so effortlessly for the past two years. A word that held such a dangerous meaning. A word that made other kids' faces turn white as paper when they heard it. A word that was now her namesake.

They picked her.

Sawyer stepped onto the stage cautiously and Valentina thrust her arm out to greet her. Sawyer looked up to see her grinning face and was so close that she could see her own reflection in the woman's eyes.

She looked terrified.

Valentina helped Sawyer onto the stage, then twirled away to the microphone. "And now we have our girl!" She said happily. "Sawyer dear, go stand by your partner." She said as she swept her hand in the direction of the crying little boy standing on the middle of the stage.

Sawyer crossed the gap to the where Nan was, and Valentina carried on with her speech.

"Now that both reapings have been completed, I am pleased to introduce them to you for the first time as tributes- Nan Padilla and Sawyer Ambrose! The_ brave_ competitors of District Nine!" Valentina's words echoed across the town square powerfully.

The people in the crowd did not mirror Valentina's hopefulness though. Sawyer looked at them and saw a mixture of sympathy and disappointment. They knew as well as she did that neither of them would probably be coming back.

* * *

As Nan exited the stage through the back door, he let the tears come as they pleased. His shoulders heaved up and down as he sobbed violently. The poor boy was overwhelmed with emotions.

They were taking him away. That's all he could tell himself. They were taking him away.

A different peacekeeper opened the door to the justice building and motioned him inside. Sawyer was taken down a different route and Nan was left all alone with the peacekeeper.

He was very afraid of them. He didn't know people could be so heartless. How could they just rip him away from his brother like that? They didn't even say anything. They just hauled him over their shoulder and tossed him onto the stage like a sack of wheat.

Nan was promptly shoved inside a goodbye room and the door slammed shut from behind him as soon as he stepped foot past the frame. He jumped at the loud noise and turned around, but there was no one there anymore. They had left him in here all by himself. Alone.

The very realization made more tears well up behind his eyes and spill down his cheeks. He was truly alone in here. His family would come to say goodbye, he was sure of it, but for now he just had to endure the wait.

He wiped the tears from his eyes with a shaky hand and looked around.

The room was warm and smelled like wood. It had old squeaky floors and murals of wheat fields hanging on the wall. There were a few chairs in the corner and an old bench resting by the window. It also was ghostly quiet, like no one had been in there for a long time.

To his relief, the door flew open a few minutes later and his family came bursting into the room. His father, his stone cold father, swept him up into his arms before anyone else could and held him tightly. He didn't say anything, he just held onto his son for as long as he could until Lux began yanking his brother out of his embrace.

"Oh Nan!" Lux cried as he pulled his brother into his arms. "This is wrong, it's all wrong!" His voice trembled even though he spoke loudly. "They can't take you away like this. You're my brother, my best friend."

Nan was too overwhelmed to speak, but he understood what Lux meant wholeheartedly. They weren't supposed to be separated. The twins had never been apart a day in their life. Neither of them would be able to handle the other's absence. It was as if they were one soul in two different bodies.

No one understood the bond they had.

"Oh dear, please don't cry anymore." His mother soothed him as she kneeled down. "Everything will be _okay_."

Nan wanted to believe her, trust her, but he knew it wasn't true. He knew that he was going into this all alone. Whatever laid ahead was going to be torturous.

Without Lux he didn't know who he was.

He was dead.

"Please say something." Lux demanded.

Nan opened his mouth, but no words would come out. "I... I don't know what to say." He stuttered.

"Then take this." Lux said evenly as he yanked something out of his pocket.

In his hands he clutched a small, stuffed doll. It was old and worn, it's eyes made of little black buttons. Nan recognized it after a quick moment; it was Lux's favorite toy. He always carried it around for good luck.

"To remember me," Lux insisted as he shoved it into Nan's weak hands. "Maybe it will bring _you_ some good luck from now on."

Tears dripped down Nan's face as he looked down at his new token. "Thank you." He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

"You know maybe it's not as bad as it looks." Gideon said as he sat beside Sawyer on the bench. "You're not a little weakling. You're good with a scythe. Sure, you're dumb and ugly, but you still have a chance."

"Gideon!" their mother hissed at him. "This is no time for insults!"

Gideon laughed breathlessly. "It wasn't an insult, mom! Sawyer already knows."

Sawyer rolled her eyes. Even at a time like this, she could never expect her brother to change who he was just to comfort her. He always told the truth, even though he was particularly rude about it.

And that was how she wanted things to be. She didn't want her last moments with her family to be all depressing and serious. She wanted to remember them as the people they really were.

Her mother and father weren't people that cried and hugged their kids all the time. Her brother, Simon, wasn't someone who stood in the corner and wallowed in his feelings. Her parents were tight lipped, hard working people, and Simon was so smart and wise, his face always in a book.

She didn't want to see them upset. This was their last few minutes together.

It wasn't her place to tell them to cheer up though. Sawyer knew how devastated her family was. It was the worst news someone could get. She just wished there was a way to console them, to help them accept whatever laid ahead, even though she herself didn't know what it would be.

"Whatever you see on the TV, just remember me for who I really was." Sawyer said after a moment, speaking to no one in particular. "No matter what happens, please try not to get too upset."

If she was to become just a memory, she wanted to be a fond one.

Perhaps it would bring her family some closure.

* * *

**A/N: i drank coconut water the other day and it was the most horrifying thing ever. guys, i think i might have to change my name from grand coconut to grand pineapple or something. i like pineapples a whole lot more.**


	11. District Ten: Paper Heart

"Hit the freaking ball Hopper!" One of the boys in the outfield yelled.

Hopper threw his arms up in the air. "Wha- how am I supposed to hit the ball when this 'pitcher' over here can't even pitch in the right direction?" He pointed his bat in the direction of the boy standing on the mound. "It's not my fault he's-"

"Okay, _okay_." The boy, Ralph, interrupted as he walked over to the pitcher and yanked the baseball out of his hand. "Go play left field, Tom." He said, giving the boy a shove. "I'll pitch."

Tom rolled his eyes and took the glove from the boy. "I'm gonna strike you out for that." He growled in embarrassment.

Hopper repositioned himself with a smug look on his face. "We'll see."

Ralph, now on the mound, smirked as well before he drew his arm back and threw the ball Hopper's way with athletic speed.

_CRACK!_

Hopper hit the baseball dead on and it went flying. He didn't even stop to see where it went, he just dropped the bat starting running the bases as fast as he could. First and second base were easy, third base was a relief, and finally, he took a risk and went in for the home stretch.

In a dead sprint, Hopper ran for home plate. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. _Come on, come on, come on!_ He urged himself onward. Home plate got closer and closer and Hopper let out a whoop when his foot hit the mark.

"Yeah! Fuck you, Tom!" He yelled victoriously as he jumped around to face them in the outfield. "Home run!"

To his surprise, the other boys immediately burst out laughing. Hopper frowned. "Wha-what?" He asked, confused. He didn't understand what was so funny until he saw Tom walking out from behind them, twirling the ball in his hand.

"I told you I was gonna strike you out." He said, a haughty grin on his face.

Hopper's mouth fell open. "What..."

Ralph was behind Tom, collapsing in a fit of laughter. The tall boy's dark hair fell into his pale face and his cheeks grew red. "Did you see your face when you stepped on home plate! You thought you made a home run wahAHAHA!" Ralph howled like a buffoon with laughter.

Tom's grin grew wider, and Hopper was smiling too before he could stop himself.

"Ha ha very well done, Tom." Hopper said sarcastically, yanking the ball out of the boy's hands. "Let's see how great _you_ are making a home run."

Tom let out an arrogant laugh. "Okay! Let's do it." He accepted the challenge confidently. "Ready to be put to shame, Hopper?" He said over his shoulder while he went to get up the bat.

Hopper raised his eyebrows and smirked. "You can try!"

And with that, the boys quickly got back into their positions to begin a new game.

* * *

The second oldest Raleigh child sighed at her reflection as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her pale blonde hair fell down her back in long waves. Her blue eyes were so sad, so dull.

Orchid's whole life had been a struggle. When she was born, her family had only been getting by. Barely, but they had enough money to afford the things they needed. But once her father died, the Raleigh family fell so far below the poverty line, they were lucky if they had one meal per day.

The faded blue dress that Orchid wore was a few sizes too small, but it was the only one she had. She tugged on the sleeves, trying to cover her arms and thighs, but to no success. Such a small dress barely covered her legs.

Orchid sighed and gave up on adjusting the dress. It would just have to do the way it was.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Orchid jerked her head up.

"Come in." She said quickly as she dropped her hands away from the dress.

The door opened and her older brother, Chase, poked his head in. He looked a lot like Orchid. Same light blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes; only his eyes were a little brighter.

"We're leaving soon. Are you almost ready?" He asked gently.

She shrugged as she looked in the mirror. "I guess so." She replied.

Chase sighed as he watched his sister look in the mirror. "You look fine, Orchid." He said after a moment. "Don't look too hard in the mirror. It's a... deceitful thing."

Orchid slowly drew her eyes away from the slab of reflective glass as he wished. "It's not that." She admitted. "I'm just worried about today."

"You're not the only one." Chase said softly. "We all are."

"Every year we have to take out more and more tesserae. Now that you're not eligible, me and Landon have had to take out double. When Robin's twelve, he'll have to start taking it too."

Chase nodded. "I know." He sighed. "I don't want it to be like this either. Maybe one day we won't need it anymore."

Orchid's eyes found their way back to the mirror and she looked at her reflection absently for a long moment. "I sure hope so." She said quietly.

* * *

As Hopper and his friends checked in at the reaping, the man at the table quickly took their fingers one by one and zapped them with the needle. After he was done, he sent them away to their pens. Some boys went to the fifteen year olds, some to the seventeens, and a few of them even parted for the eighteen year olds section.

Hopper and his two closest friends shouldered their way into the sixteen year old's section after saying goodbye. Ralph, the tallest one, shoved boys out of their way until they were standing right in the middle of the crowd. They took their places and waited for the ceremony to begin.

Tom stood next to Hopper with a pale, stoic look on his face. He hadn't said a single word since they checked in actually.

As Ralph noticed this, he leaned in front of Hopper and looked at Tom with a raised eyebrow. "Uh... You okay, Tom?"

Tom didn't make eye contact with him for a long moment, until he finally sighed. "We might get reaped." He said simply.

Ralph shook his head. "We won't."

Tom looked away. "Yeah, well we might."

"Yeah and you might get a girlfriend. Oops, we both know that's not happening." Hopper jumped in, interrupting the solemn mood with humor.

Tom immediately frowned at his friend, but soon he couldn't help but crack a smile. "Shut up, Hopper." He laughed as he shoved him to the side.

Hopper burst out in laughter as well and Ralph smiled too.

"You, my friend, need to calm down." Hopper said with a smile. "You are_ too_ anxious about this whole thing."

Tom nodded vaguely as Hopper slammed his hand on his back.

"We're gonna be fine."

* * *

The escort, Aurelius, tapped on the microphone and Orchid jumped to attention. She clasped her hands together nervously as her eyes darted to the stage. There, she saw the cobalt blue man, waiting for the whole district to look his way.

Aurelius was a true capitolite and his style was bold and rather elaborate. His whole body was encrusted with rich blue sapphires, and after looking at him for a moment, Orchid began to wonder if he had anything else on underneath the gems at all. You couldn't see anything important, but he definitely didn't look... clothed.

"Good morning District Ten!" Aurelius greeted the crowd. "We came so close last year, _so close!_ Haven gave us a good run, but this year I have a feeling we'll be bringing the crown home!"

Orchid looked down sadly. She knew the Hanovers from school. Christian was a loud, sarcastic kid in the grade above her, so she never had the nerve to talk to him. But his little brother had been a lot more approachable. She remembered always seeing Haven in the library at school, reading books. She recalled that he knew an impressive amount about animals.

The most Orchid and Haven ever spoke was a few simple "hellos" and "goodbyes", but she was still utterly crushed when that District One boy, Kramer, drove a knife into his heart during the finale. She had thought for sure that Haven would win.

The whole district did.

Aurelius carried on with his speech. "And once again, the time has come to select two tributes to compete in the annual Hunger Games! I hear this year's arena is going to be fantastic; one of the head gamemaker's finest creations yet." He hinted the audience. "So let's not waste any more time and get right to the reaping! Let's switch it up today and choose the boy first."

Orchid let out a breath of relief that he wasn't starting with the girls. She watched Aurelius anxiously as he glided over to the boy's bowl and picked a slip out from the very back. He held it high in the air as he returned to the microphone.

_I hope it's not Landon_... Orchid thought to herself.

"Hopper Garcia!"

Silence settled across the crowd as Aurelius's words echoed through the town square and spread into every crevice of the district. Her dear brother was safe.

"Hopper Garcia, hop right up!" Aurelius called out to the crowd.

After a moment, people began to move in what appeared to be the sixteen or seventeen year olds section, and a tall boy with flaxen blonde hair was spat out of the crowd.

Orchid watched him sympathetically as he began to walk forward. He looked utterly taken aback and his large, bottle green eyes were wide with surprise. The boy was leanly muscular, emphasizing the lean part, and attractive in a boyish way.

It could have so easily been her brother, Landon. This boy walking to the stage looked like him too, with the same light blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Orchid could only imagine what would happen if Landon had been picked instead.

As the boy stepped onstage, Aurelius greeted him with a welcoming smile and a congratulating handshake. "Oh hello, helloooo! It's so nice to meet you!" Aurelius grinned as he got a closer look at him. "Folks, I think we could have a winner right here! He's looks strong!" He said encouragingly.

Hopper tried to laugh, but he was clearly too nervous to manage anything other than an awkward smile.

Aurelius carried on and got back to the reaping. "Now that we have our male, let's meet our female!" He clapped excitedly.

Orchid held her breath as Aurelius crossed the gap to the bowl with her name in it.

Thirty three.

Thirty three slips had her name written all over them. It was more slips than anyone else she knew had. Orchid knew that the odds were most certainly not in her favor. She just had to hope that he wouldn't choose her name, that she could make it through another reaping unscathed.

Aurelius let his fingers dance on the tips of several slips before he finally settled on one in the middle and pulled it out swiftly. Orchid's heart rate quickened and she closed her eyes. _Please not me,_ she inwardly begged whoever was listening. She could hear Aurelius clear his throat in front of the microphone as he read the name. _Please not-_

"Miss Orchid Raleigh, come on up!"

Her heart sunk. She shouldn't have taken that extra tesserae. That was the first thing she thought to herself.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and felt the gazes of a thousand people on her. She felt... Exposed. For the first time ever, people noticed her, but it was for the worst possible reason.

She didn't dare look up until she was stepping into the isle. Orchid didn't want to accidentally make eye contact with anyone. She didn't want to see their reactions.

She walked quietly to the stage, her hands trembling.

Aurelius reached his sparkly blue arm out and helped her up the steps. When she stood next to him up there, she looked out into the crowd for the first time and was met with thousands of pairs of eyes, all intently focused on her.

Aurelius grabbed the microphone and grinned. "And you must be Orchid. My, such a beauty! The Capitol will just love you!"

Orchid opened her mouth and her chin began to tremble. "Um... I... Uh..." No words would come out. She probably looked like a deer in the headlights on camera right now.

"A little shell shocked?" Aurelius raised an eyebrow as he guided her next to Hopper. "It's quite alright, dear. All tributes are a bit scared at first." She was placed next to Hopper and Aurelius patted her on the back. "Don't worry, it will subside." He said as he went back to the center of the stage to finish the reaping.

Orchid could feel her whole body shake as she stood next to her now district partner. It was so hard to control her anxiety in that moment, it felt like her chest was about to burst. Hopper didn't seem as anxious as she was, he looked more surprised than anything.

_Stay calm,_ she told herself. _Don't panic!_

"That's a wrap on the reaping, everyone! We finally have our two tributes here and it is my pleasure to welcome them to you- Hopper Garcia and Orchid Raleigh!" Aurelius boomed, sweeping a hand in their direction. "And to seal the deal, tributes, please shake hands!"

Orchid looked up at Hopper as he turned to face her. He met her gaze nervously and smiled, trying not to appear too afraid. It was crystal clear though when she looked at him that he was just as scared as she was. With a timid grip, Orchid reached out and shook her district partner's hand.

And in that moment, she knew that she didn't have it in her to kill.

She couldn't hurt this boy.

She couldn't hurt anyone.

* * *

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it at all. Kids like him never got reaped. Sure, he and his dad weren't the wealthiest people in District Ten, but he never _once_ had to take out tesserae.

He had the bare minimum amount of slips in the bowl! How could this have happened?

As the peacekeeper walked him down the hallway in the justice building, Hopper kept mulling over the memory of Aurelius called out his name. He had been so lax about the reaping, so sure that it wouldn't be him. It seemed like the minute he got too confident in himself, the world went out of it's way to kick him in the face.

It felt kind of like punishment.

As the peacekeeper motioned him into a doorway, Hopper stepped inside absently. He still couldn't believe it. Next to shocked, he felt embarrassed. Just minutes ago, he was telling Tom how they would never get reaped, that he needed to calm down. Just an hour ago, he was outside playing baseball with his friends without a care in the world. He was laughing and having such a good time.

Things were suddenly so different. One little slip had made such a big impact of his life. He wouldn't be going back to the baseball field to play with his friends after the reaping anymore. He would be getting on a train heading to the Capitol.

And in a few weeks, he would probably be dead.

Right as the thought crept up on him, the door swung open and Hopper jerked his head up.

The first thing he saw was Ralph, who had flung the door open. His freckled face was as pale as a sheet. Then he saw Tom, who looked like he had just been crying his eyes out. Behind them were two or three other boys, all friends of his.

"Hopper," Ralph said as he made a beeline for him.

Hopper tried to smile, maybe say something to lighten the mood, but Ralph had already squeezed the breath out of him in a hug.

His friend's grip was strong, like he was clutching onto him for dear life. Ralph wasn't an emotional guy, but he seemed to have realized the weight of this situation before he walked into the room. Hopper was leaving today, probably never to come back.

Ralph let go abruptly and looked at him. "How are you doing?" He asked.

Hopper was still for a moment before he shrugged. "I'm... Fine." He managed, but he knew that he sounded unconvincing.

Ralph rolled his eyes. "You're lying, Hopper." He said with a scoff. "You are _not _fine. You're scared stiff."

Tom wiped a few tears off his face and interrupted. "Don't let them see you scared, Hopper. They'll think you're weak. They'll come after you." He said with fear in his voice. "Don't let them kill you. Please don't die."

Hopper let out a sigh, kind of relieved that his usually sarcastic friend had decided not to mock him right now.

"I won't." Hopper reassured him. "At least I'll try. I'm gonna put up a fight, Tom. Stop crying."

Tom nodded before blurting out, "I know I'm an ass sometimes, well all the time, but I want you to know that I believe in you. And I... I want you come back home."

Hopper smiled slightly. "So cliche." He laughed under his breath.

Tom laughed breathlessly too. "I'm serious though. I think you can beat them all, Hopper."

The boys behind him nodded. "You can."

They spent the last few minutes talking about how great Hopper was and reminiscing on all of their memories together. Then time came to leave and a peacekeeper opened the door and told his friends to scram.

As they filed out of the room, Ralph was the last to go. Right as he was about to walk out the door, he looked back at him. "Give 'em hell, bud!" He called out.

Hopper smiled just in time for Ralph to see him before the door slammed shut.

And that was that.

After they left, Hopper was left in silence for a few minutes before his next visitor arrived. He felt a bit better after seeing his friends. They always reminded him of who he really was. He was a confident, likable guy that was completely capable of coming back home. He would have to fight hard, but he _could_ do it.

_Give 'em hell._ Oh yeah, he was gonna give 'em hell alright. He wasn't planning on actively hunting anyone down in the arena, but if someone came for _him_, then he was going to have to fight back.

Soon, the door opened again and Hopper looked up to see the only family member he had left walk inside.

It was his dad.

"Hi son." The man smiled sadly as he entered the room.

"Dad," Hopper stood up and met his father halfway, embracing him in a hug.

His dad was so important, so dear to him. Hopper would go to the ends of the earth for him. His dad was all he had left. After good old mom walked out the front door when he was eleven, he was all that remained.

"You are such a special kid, my only son..." His father began. "No matter what happens, never forget how much I love you."

"Dad..." Hopper tried to find the right words to say.

The man nodded. "I know, I know. But I want you to remember how proud I am of you. I knew from the first time I laid eyes on you that you were one of a kind. You were gonna be someone important." He said, tears welling up behind his eyes. "You are such a fine young man. It's not the end of the road for you yet."

"Dad," Hopper said shakily. "I'm gonna fight tooth and nail to come back home, I promise you."

His father smiled as he ruffled Hopper's blonde hair. "Don't do it just for me, son. Do it for you."

Hopper shook his head as he looked down. "You've been through too much." He said bitterly. "It's just not fair."

The man laughed softly. "That's life, Hopper. No one said it was fair."

Hopper looked down for a long moment before he sighed. "I'm gonna miss you, dad."

His father smiled as he hugged him one last time. "I'm gonna miss you too."

* * *

"Orchid!" Her youngest brother, Robin, cried out as he ran to her. "Orchid, I don't want you to go!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held her sweet, little brother close. He was so innocent and naive. She knew he was going to be absolutely crushed when he saw what the TV displayed in the next few weeks.

"Orchid, please come back." He whimpered into her shoulder. "Please."

"Oh Robin..." Orchid couldn't bear to tell him what was probably going to happen to her.

She looked up to see her other two brothers standing behind Robin. Landon rubbed the tears off his cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt, and Chase stood still, trying not to cry. He was clearly trying to stay strong for them, but Orchid knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to shed that facade.

"It's okay, Chase. I had it coming." Orchid admitted with a sad sigh.

Chase shook his head. "No." He said strongly. "No one should ever have _this_ coming. It's not right."

"You're a good person, Orchid. It shouldn't have been you." Landon said shakily, trying to hold back tears.

"It had to be someone, I guess." Orchid mumbled, looking down.

But Chase was right. As much tesserae as she had to take out, the punishment still shouldn't have cost her her life. She was just doing what she needed to do to get by. It was all wrong the way the system worked. It seemed like whatever option she picked, they both ended with her dying.

"Please try to stay alive, Orchid." Landon said after a moment. "Maybe you can. Not all the winners are fighters anyway. Some of them didn't even have to kill someone until the very end."

"You're right, Landon." Orchid tried to console him, even though inside she knew she didn't have it in her to kill another person. "And I love you so much."

"I love you too." He said as he crossed the gap to her with open arms.

Chase joined him and for the last few moments before it was time for them to leave, Orchid just held on to her brothers tight, cherishing the last time she would be with her family.

* * *

**A/N: hi guys i just caught up on all the episodes of Game of Thrones! do u guys watch that show? does anyone want to tALK ABOUT HOW GREAT IT IS?!' i took a quiz on buzzfeed about which character i'm most like and i got khal drogo. HAHAHAAHAHA WHAT?! who would have thought..**

**anyway, tell me what you thought about these two!**

**til next time! :)**


	12. District Eleven: Queen of Hearts

As the bright morning sunshine peeked out from the sky above, a group of high school kids loitered in the old, rusty park before the reaping. Some boys stood on one side of the park, talking with the drug dealer in their grade, negotiating prices. And on the other end, two girls swung back and forth lazily on the swings, their feet brushing the ground.

"He's so handsome." Lolita said dreamily as she gazed at the boy across the park. He wore a black jacket with the hood pulled over, casting shadows over the chiseled contours of his face. She watched him from afar as he conversed with the others. She smiled softly as she twirled a piece of her long golden hair in her fingers.

Her best friend, Susanna, looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Which one, the drug dealer?" She questioned her logic. Susanna had dark, curly hair and large brown eyes.

Lolita giggled quietly. "Yeah, him." She sighed.

Susanna laughed. "Okay... Well you already know what'll happen when the peacekeepers catch him."

Lolita glanced at Susanna with an amused smile on her lips. "Prison men are hot."

Susanna rolled her eyes and Lolita smirked as she pulled out a tube of fruit punch lip gloss. There were much larger things to worry about, like school, the reaping, the future... But that wasn't any fun. She was sixteen. Careless. Free. She liked thinking about men more than she liked thinking about grades.

The boys on the other side of the park settled on a price and Lolita watched longingly as they split apart and went their separate ways. She applied another layer of gloss to her lips as she watched them go.

She sighed "All i want is to fall in love, Susanna. Life just seems so meaningless without love, don't you think?" Her eyes were distant, daydreaming again.

Susanna shrugged her shoulders. "Sure." She smiled at her friend. "And you _will_ fall in love, just not with a drug dealer."

* * *

"Move." Preston commanded as he pushed a lingering nerd out of his way. There was a tumbling sound behind him as he kept moving forward and he smirked with satisfaction. Who did that kid think he was standing in the middle of the walking path? Did he not think he was going to get knocked over?

Preston scoffed and rolled his eyes as he continued shouldering his way through the crowd. It was hot and sunny outside and people all around him were nudging their way past each other to get to their designated pens. It was annoying and gross, and Preston continued to shove anyone who got in his path.

He made his way to the seventeen year old section with arrogantly tall posture and his head held high. Kids at school knew not to mess with him, but there were a lot of people here today that did not go to school with him. They weren't aware of his reputation.

But just one look at this kid would intimidate anyone with common sense. He was tall, leanly muscular, and had a tough aura about him. It was in his voice, the way he walked, the way he talked, and just the look in his eyes. He had light brown skin with a dust of freckles across his nose and cheeks, close clipped black hair, and unnerving brown eyes. He looked good in a very singular way.

Up ahead in the seventeen year olds pen, Preston caught sight of one of his friends. He could see out of the corner of his eye that the escort was getting ready to begin the reaping, so he quickened up his pace. He slipped under the ropes and pushed past the other boys in line to reach him.

"Marv!" Preston called out as he approached him. "Marvin!"

A dark skinned boy turned around at the sound of his name. It only took a moment for him to find Preston. "Hey man!" Marvin exclaimed as he slapped him on the back. "I didn't think you were gonna make it. It looks like they're about to st-"

"Hey," a new, unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted from behind him. The tone was unfriendly.

Preston turned around quickly and raised an eyebrow at the stranger. The boy was fair skinned with blonde hair and angry green eyes. Preston looked him up and down. "What." He said flatly.

"You just shoved me, that's what." The boy accused him.

Preston rolled his eyes upward and laughed. "Okay? And what are you gonna do about it?" He challenged him, cracking his knuckles as a scare tactic.

The boy was about to reply when a loud voice boomed into the microphone.

"Helloooo, hello! My name is Blaze and I am your _new_ escort this year! What a delight it is to be here today!" The enthusiastic man greeted the crowd. He wore a white bodysuit with transparent gems going up the leg in the shape of flames. His hair was dyed a shocking shade of white, which contrasted greatly with his young skin.

Preston was distracted by the escort for a moment, but when he whipped his head back around to resume his argument with the boy, he had disappeared. One of the boy's friends had already pulled him back into the line. Preston glared in disappointment as he sunk back into the line next to Marvin. He let out a deep breath and let his narrowed eyes wander onto the stage instead. He would just have to find the kid after the reaping. He was going to show him what happened when you messed with the wrong guy.

"I have come all the way from the Capitol to be with you today. I hope you are as excited as I am!" Blaze clasped his hands together and waited for a cheering response from the crowd, but contrary to what he was expecting, he was met with nothing. The faces in the crowd were all agitated, tired, or overworked. No one mirrored his enthusiasm. "Oh, uh, well I suppose we will just begin the reaping!" Blaze laughed nervously and recovered quickly. "I'll start with the girls."

He crossed the gap to the girls bowl daintily, the sound of his tall high heels clicking across the concrete stage. He smiled at the crowd as he reached into the bowl. With a single flick of his wrist, he plucked one slip of paper out and unfolded it.

"Hmm let's see here..." He examined the name. "Lolita Aran...Aranguren!"

Preston looked at the pen opposite of him and watched for any commotion. He vaguely remembered that he had forgotten to even worry about his little sister, but was inwardly relieved that it wasn't her. She was still tucked away in the fourteen year olds section, hidden safely from the escort. He did not know Lolita.

It was hard too see at first, but he caught a glimpse of the girl as she entered the aisle. A glimmer of golden hair, a pair of shiny red lips, the fabric of a sunflower print dress. He could not see the entire girl until she stepped onstage.

"Hello my dear!" Blaze greeted Lolita as he helped her up the steps. "You are such a beauty queen! The prettiest girl here!"

The girl's hazel eyes were wide and doe like. "Thank you." She managed to say. The fear was very prominent in her voice.

Preston rolled his eyes. _What a pansy._

Blaze congratulated her on her "luck" and went right on to the boys. "I hope you're ready gentlemen!" Blaze grinned as he approached their bowl and plucked a piece of paper off the top.

He unfolded it quickly and examined the name. Preston rolled his head and cracked his neck casually. It wouldn't be him. He didn't have back lu-

"Preston Faucette!" Blaze called out.

He jerked his head up, his eyes suddenly wide as saucers. _No!_

There was no way.

Silence settled over the town square as Blaze waited for someone to step forward.

"Oh man." Marvin said under his breath. "Dude..." He nudged Preston with his elbow.

"Yeah, I, just... Get off me." Preston fumbled for words as he started walking. He didn't even know what he just said, or why he had begun walking. As he made his way out of the crowd, one thing emerged in his mind. _This is their first impression of me._ He stoically shouldered past the other boys in line. _Act tough!_

He rolled his shoulders back and held his head high. The shock could be processed later. What mattered right now was that it did not show on his face. He had to look strong because this was the first time people were going to see him as a tribute. He had to make a solid impact.

As he came closer to the stage, he could hear the camera lenses adjusting and focusing on his face. _Don't even look at them_, he thought as he reached the first step.

Just as he had done for Lolita, Blaze extended his hand to Preston and giggled with excitement. "Preston! Oh you must be Preston!" He greeted him.

Preston refused his handshake and stepped onto the stage by himself.

Blaze brushed it off and carried on with positive energy. "Congratulations, sir. You are in for one wild ride! Now if you don't mind, please go stand by your district partner." He pointed to Lolita a few feet away from him. With a grunt, Preston left the escort's side.

He had not even begun to think about what a 'wild ride' this would be. Right now he was stuck in the moment. The only thing on his mind was not letting any emotion come across his face. Maybe on the train he could sort everything out.

_The train._ It suddenly occurred to him that within the hour, he would be heading for the Capitol. He would be leaving his home here in District Eleven, perhaps for good. It was all so sudden!

Blaze continued his speech about what a great honor it was to be a tribute and Preston took his place beside Lolita. She really _was_ beautiful with her long golden hair and tan skin, but none of that meant a thing. If he was going to win, then she would have to lose. There was no way around it.

He gazed into the crowd with hard eyes. They were all looking at him, every one of them. He looked for signs of sadness in the people's eyes, but he found none. It made him a bit mad actually. How dare they not feel-

Then he realized it. The look in their eyes was relief. Relief that the big bad bully was gone? No. It was relief that someone _strong_ had finally been reaped. Someone that might be able to come back home. Preston began to feel it in the air. The people in the crowd were relieved that an underfed little wimp had not been reaped again. Maybe this year District Eleven stood a chance.

They had actually reaped a competitor this time.

* * *

Lolita flung the door of the goodbye room shut and burst into tears. She could feel her world falling apart at the seams. All the walls were tumbling down. She collapsed onto the wooden bench and began to sob. She had no survival skills! She couldn't even light a fire! Her doom was inevitable.

She would never see the light of day again. All that laid ahead was darkness, loneliness, and fear. How could she survive? The despair was crushing her already.

After a few minutes of misery, the door suddenly flew open. Lolita looked up, expecting to see her father, but instead saw a head of shiny black curls.

"Oh Susanna," Lolita said sorrowfully. "This is the worst day of my life!"

Her best friend rushed over and wrapped her in a warm embrace. She did not know what to say, so she just hugged her friend tightly as she cried. A long moment passed before either of them spoke again.

"That boy, he looks so mean and rough." Lolita choked out. "And he's only _one _of the people I'm going up against."

Susanna tried to console her. "There's always allies, right? You could make some allies." She suggested hopefully.

"No, I... I don't think so." Lolita broke apart from her and wiped her eyes. "Susanna... I think this is goodbye." She said sadly.

"What?" Susanna looked at her in disbelief. "Come on, that's crazy talk!"

"No, I'm just being honest... I really do think this is the end." Lolita lowered her gaze to the floor.

There was no use in lying to her best friend.

* * *

Preston waited calmly in the empty room with his hands folded on his lap. The more he thought about it, the better he felt. The shock had quickly worn off and now he was just left with the facts. He had been reaped... Okay. He was probably stronger than the majority of tributes this year... That was good. And he could take every single one of them out... Yes, without a doubt in his mind.

Soon, there was a soft knock and he looked up. His younger sister opened the door gently and Preston saw that she had tears rolling down her cheeks. He rolled his eyes and sat up. "Come on, Clover. Stop crying." He hated when she cried. It made him uncomfortable.

Clover nodded weakly and entered the room. "I'm sorry. I-I just feel really sad." She wiped her face off with her sleeve.

"Don't be such a baby. I'm gonna be fine" Preston gloated.

"But how do you know?" Clover asked, desperation in her voice. How could he be sure of something that had not happened yet?

Preston crossed his arms over his chest proudly. "Because I've never lost a fight." He boasted. "I'm unbeatable."

Clover just rolled her eyes, wishing he would act serious. Her brother had always been an arrogant boy. He never listened anyone but himself and sometimes his big ego got him in trouble. She hoped he would be rational about this. If he didn't win, he was going to die.

"Please just be careful." Clover said as more tears fell down her cheeks. "Don't do anything foolish."

"Okay crybaby," Preston made fun of her. "When have I ever done anything _foolish_?" He smirked.

Clover looked up at him flatly.

She could recall many times where her older brother had been foolish.

* * *

**A/N: hi this update took a very long time because i lost my spark for a while (and all my reviewers) and i just wasn't feeling it anymore. nonetheless, here i am back at it again.**

**i hope you enjoy this chapter! and GAME OF THRONES PREMIERES TONIGHT AND I FEEL GREAT. I AM REALLY EXCITED. no other show has compared in the slightest. it's so detailed, so dimensional, so amazing.. just slay me and throw my dead body in the river.**


	13. District Twelve: The Lost Boys

Milo slowed his run down to a brisk jog, then finally a walk. He soon found himself back on the dirt roads of District Twelve's Seam. The weather was light and warm and the few spring flowers in the district were starting to bloom. Most of them were dandelions and clover buds, technically considered weeds, but they added some much needed brightness to his town.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he finally caught his breath. Milo had just outrun an older guy from the East Side after being caught on their turf, and was now on his way back to his home in the far West End.

One of the East Side gangs had graffitied their symbol onto West End property, so Milo was sent to get revenge on them. Milo's best friend, Elias, who also happened to be their pack leader, was big on disrespect. If one gang messed with them, he would get them back ten times over. He had sent Milo to do the job because he was the fastest out of all of them. He was even nicknamed "Dash" because he was so agile.

As Milo strolled back home, a school bell rang loudly from a few blocks away. He saw kids and teenagers around his age come flooding out of the front doors, chattering and laughing.

He was not among their ranks of course. Milo had dropped out of school a while ago.

He was fourteen years old when it happened. Milo came home late one night after being out with his friends to find peacekeepers surrounding his house. Confused, he shoved his way through the gathering crowd to find that his family's small house had been burned to the ground. Everything was black and in ashes. He remembered asking where his parents were, then screaming it when no one answered him. Finally, one of the peacekeepers told him that they had found bodies in the rubble. Two bodies. Two adults.

Even to the present day, three years later, Milo was still never able to forget the feeling in his stomach when they told him his parents were dead. It was like it dropped right out of it's cavity. That dark night in April had been the worst moment of his life. It still was.

After everything was confirmed, the peacekeepers took Milo and placed him in an orphanage miles and miles away. He had very few memories of the place because he wasn't even there for two days before he busted a window and ran away. He wasn't supposed to be there. He wasn't like the rest of those kids.

After that, he lived on the streets for a long time. There were so many homeless children in District Twelve, Milo's case was nothing special. Most of them died of starvation, but he did not. Milo did whatever it took to survive. He stole food, he pick pocketed, he carried a knife with him in case someone wanted to cause trouble.

A lot of alley kids banded together in little gangs, and somewhere along the way, Milo found a group of his own. Elias was the one who found him and took him in. The gang lived in a large, abandoned building in the outskirts of Twelve, and that became his home. The other boys became his family.

It had been that way ever since. The boys in that gang were like brothers, willing to cheat, steal, fight, and kill for each other. There were seven of them, ranging from sixteen years old to twenty one. Elias was the oldest, being twenty two.

No one on the West End messed with them and they had a lot of connections. He knew his brothers had his back no matter what, and he had theirs. Milo did not have a lot, but he had what he needed. And considering all that he had gone through, Milo was still a very pleasant guy. The way he saw it, the glass was always half full. Opportunity was lurking around every corner.

And even though he lived in the poorest District of Panem, life was still meant to be enjoyed.

Milo wandered through the Seam, gazing around at the dusty shacks and underfed people trudging along. He blended right in here. Milo had shaggy dark brown hair, appearing to be black from a distance, and grey Seam eyes that sparkled with mischief. He had a lean, athletic build from all the running he had to do and was a lot stronger than he looked.

Way past the Seam, down by the edge of the district, laid his home. Some of the boys said it used to be an old coal factory that was abandoned after the rebellion. It was a large building with two stories. One of the stories had an old conveyer belt running right through the middle of it. Inside, the paint on the walls was peeling and most of the lights did not work, but they usually just lit kerosene lamps instead.

There was never any trouble down there because the peacekeepers never bothered to patrol that far west. Perhaps they used to right after the rebellion, but they had become a bit more lax in the past decade.

Milo hurried the rest of the way home and swung the front door open when he arrived. He immediately grinned when he saw his brothers sitting around the table with a deck of cards. Milo clearly had good news.

"You're back!" The youngest one, Jasper, called out as he saw him. The rest of the boys looked up from their game.

Elias leaned on the old conveyer belt with his elbows, looking at Milo expectantly. "So how did it go?" He asked, interested to hear what he had to report.

"You told me to get them back," Milo began, a sly grin stretching across his face.

Elias nodded slowly. "Mm hm. And?"

Milo dropped the can of spray paint on the floor and it rolled forward. "They sprayed one of their symbols on our turf. I sprayed ten of ours on theirs." Milo announced proudly. "I was going in for number eleven when some East Side guy chased me down, trying to stab me with a pocketknife. I got away though." He laughed.

A few of the boys nodded, impressed, and Elias looked at him for a long moment, then burst into a grin.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Elias slammed his hand down on the conveyor belt. "Do you hear that, boys? Ten times! We're celebrating tonight!"

Milo's brothers burst into hoots and cheers. A few got up out of their chairs and slammed their hands on his back, congratulating him. Milo had really pulled one for the team today and he felt very proud of his work.

"That's freaking awesome," a blonde boy, Eagle, shook Milo by the shoulders. "Freaking _awesome_."

"You're lucky that guy didn't kill you!" One of the older boys, Brett, a guy with orange hair and freckles, added. "East Side gangs have serious anger issues."

"Well we don't call him Dash for nothin'!" Eagle bragged about his brother. "He's quicker than lightening."

Milo smiled smiled smugly, basking in the admiration.

Elias came up from behind and slammed his hand on Milo's back. "I'm super impressed, man. I sent you 'cause I knew you would get the job done."

"It was no problem. In fact, I kind of had fun pissing some East Side guys off." Milo said assuringly. The look on that guy's face when he saw him vandalizing his territory was priceless.

Elias chuckled. "I can always count on you, bud." He patted his younger gang member on the back. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Milo grinned.

* * *

The next day, on the other side of the district, a small girl swung the front door of her house open.

"I'm leaving, Gran! I'll just meet you at the reaping." Noel called out to her elderly grandmother as she skipped out the door. Her naturally curly blonde hair caught onto the breeze as she hopped off the porch and continued skipping down the street.

Her grandmother always took forever to get ready in the morning. If Noel didn't leave right now, she would not be able to get in line with her friends!

Noel looked around as she skipped by. The houses in this part of town were old and dilapidated and the grass was brown. Everything looked so dead here. At least the sky was bright and blue. Noel focused on that as she made her way onto the open road.

She had lived with her grandmother ever since she could remember. Something had happened to her mother, but Gran never talked about it. Noel never asked. All she knew was that it was her and Gran and that was the way it had always been.

"Noel!" A young girl's voice called out as Noel approached the town square.

Noel perked up and looked around, her light blue eyes wide and alert. "Summer?"

"Over here, silly!" Summer called from the check in station.

Noel followed her voice and finally caught her eye. Summer was standing in line, waving to her excitedly. Noel smiled happily and dashed over to her. The two had been friends for years. Summer had unusual green eyes and brown hair, not common in District Twelve.

"Phew! I was starting to think I was gonna get my finger pricked before you got here." Summer sighed in relief.

Noel shrugged as she slipped under the ropes, getting in line with her friend. "Sorry, Gran's hip was slowing her down today so I had to stay and help for a while. I left eventually because by the time she would've been ready to leave, the reaping would have already started!"

Summer giggled at the thought and Noel burst out into a smile as well.

"Next." A monotone voice said from ahead.

Noel looked up in surprise to see that it was already their turn. Butterflies suddenly appeared in her stomach. "Oh, I, uh..." She stuttered, eyes wide.

"It's fine," Summer interrupted her. "I'll go first."

Noel let out a sigh of relief as her friend stepped forward. She closed her eyes for a moment to slow down her rapidly beating heart. Oh, she hated blood! Even worse, she hated pain. Just a little prick of the finger could result with Noel in a fit of tears.

The peacekeeper at the table took Summer's finger in her hand and zapped it with some sort of electrical needle. Noel flinched as it broke her skin and looked away. Summer was so brave to give the lady her hand without even thinking about it!

"Next." The peacekeeper said flatly.

Noel froze.

"It's only a prick," Summer encouraged her. "It doesn't hurt."

The peacekeeper grew impatient. "Come on kid. I don't have all day." She rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

Noel tried to speak, perhaps in an attempt to get out of it, but she couldn't. Hesitantly, she took a step forward and extended her hand to the peacekeeper.

With force, the peacekeeper took Noel's shaky hand and zapped it with the needle. Noel yelped and the lady tossed her hand back to her. "Alright, now get out of here." The peacekeeper jerked her thumb in the direction of the pens. "Scram kid."

Without hesitation, Noel skittered out of the line with Summer. "That was terrible!" Noel breathed in horror. "You said it was just a prick!

"Come on," Summer took Noel's unharmed hand. "There are much bigger things to worry about."

With a gulp, Noel looked up at the stage. Summer was right. There were certainly bigger things to worry about.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Noel made her way to the thirteen year olds pen with her friend.

* * *

Marigold watched attentively as the eligible tributes filed into their pens. It never ceased to amaze her how different District Twelve was from the Capitol. Here, almost every face that passed her by was gaunt and sad, underfed and overworked. In the Capitol, she never saw anything of the sort. Everyone was always bursting with energy and dressed up like flamboyant peacocks.

One would expect that as her third year as District Twelve's escort, she would have gotten used to the vibe by now.

Marigold knew that the mayor and his wife did not like her. That probably explained why they had not even bothered to say hello to her. People thought she was dumb, but she was actually very observant. She had just grown up in a very materialistic environment unlike everyone here. There was nothing made up or artificial about this poverty ridden district.

She stuck out like a sore thumb right now. With a sigh, Marigold lowered her gaze and smoothed out her gown. No one had complimented her on it, which was a shame because she really thought it looked amazing.

Her tangerine orange gown was made out of delicate chiffon, the top layer encrusted with tiny crystals. It made the dress sparkle when the light hit it. She wore white silk gloves and had layered pearl necklaces over each other for that old classic glamour look. The wig on her head was a light shade of orange and framed her face in long, inverted ringlets. She had even added a feather on her head for a little something extra.

She looked like an orange dreamsicle! Why wasn't anyone complimenting her for her creativity?

"It's time for your speech." The mayor's rough voice snarled from behind her.

Marigold jumped in her heels, surprised. "Oh, of course!" She had been caught off guard.

She looked out into the crowd as she pranced to the microphone. Yes, everyone was in their places, ready to begin the reaping. It was a sea of dusty, sunkissed bodies.

"Good morning District Twelve!" Marigold took hold of the microphone. "What a beautiful day it is for the Twentieth Annual Hunger Games reaping!"

She looked out into the crowd for some kind of response, a grin plastered onto her face, but she was not met with the energy she had been hoping for. The older teenagers in the front row looked annoyed and pissed off, and the young children towards the back look terrified for their lives. Excitement was nonexistent.

"Well, I, okay... Today we are gathered here to reap one brave boy and girl to compete in this year's Hunger Games. Without further ado, let's find out who the lucky girl will be!"

Marigold sashayed over to the bowl on the right, where all the girls names laid. With a swift flick of her hand, she plucked a single slip out of the bowl and unfolded it in front of the microphone. Hopefully she would get a good one this year.

"Noel Scullark."

The echo of her voice spread across the crowd, sinking into every crevice of the town square. There was no movement for a long moment and Marigold waited patiently for Noel to step forward.

Finally there was some motion in the back, and a girl with light blonde ringlets and wide blue eyes was spit out of the crowd. Marigold could not help but pity her. She looked so afraid. Noel was a very small and petite girl, probably one of the twelve year olds.

When she reached the stage, Marigold smiled warmly and helped her up the steps. "Hello darling! It is great to meet you. I assume you are Noel."

The girl nodded weakly, her chin trembling.

Marigold clasped her hands together. "Fantastic! Well I'll let you stand right here while we select your male counterpart."

Noel nodded again very weakly. She probably did not know it, but Marigold had sped up her introduction because she could see that Noel was overwhelmed. It would be a shame if the little girl ended up fainting or something on the stage.

"And now, let's find out who the boy will be this year!" Marigold exclaimed as she crossed the gap to the bowl on the left side of the stage.

She dipped her hand into the bowl and pulled out a slip. Quickly and precisely, she unfolded the piece of paper and scanned the name.

"Milo Brooks!"

Marigold immediately spotted a head of black hair in the seventeen year olds section jump at the sound of his name. She watched him begin to move when suddenly a voice rang out.

"I volunteer!" Someone in the sixteen year olds section cried out. "I volunteer for him!"

"I volunteer as tribute!" Anther voice, belonging to a blonde young man in the eighteen year old's section called out.

There was some more bustling in the eighteen year old section. "I volunteer!" A rough bass voice declared as he shoved his way to the front row.

Marigold did not know which way to look! Three volunteers for a tribute? In District Twelve? It was unheard of. She had no idea what would become of this. She just watched in silence as it all unfolded.

"No no! No," she watched the reaped boy burst out of the crowd. "Get back in line, Eagle! Cole!" He yelled at the guys in the front row. "Don't even think about it!"

Marigold could see the retaliation in the boys eyes. "But," the blonde one began to say.

"No buts! You're not throwing your life away for me." The reaped one, Milo, yelled in response. "Get back."

Eagle and Cole both looked astonished and upset, but did as Milo commanded them. Unwillingly, they both slipped back into the crowd.

Now alone in the aisle, Milo wiped the dirt off his pants and looked up at the stage, meeting Marigold's surprised gaze. He took a deep breath and began walking forward.

He quickly composed himself and smiled pleasantly as he passed by the last row of people.

The boy reminded her of Sully from last year, with same tousled dark hair and bright grey eyes. As he approached, she could see that he had a decent amount of muscle on him as well. He was lean and athletic, but definitely had some hidden power. Hopefully, he would meet a happier fate than Sully did.

Milo stepped on stage with no help from Marigold.

"Hello Milo, it seems like you have a lot of friends in the crowd." Marigold plastered on a friendly smile as she shook his hand.

Milo's smile faded into a very small one and he looked down. He clearly did not wish to discuss it. Up close, she could see fear in his grey eyes. It only sparked in the very depths, but it was vaguely noticeable.

"Well, the weeks to come will certainly be interesting! Please take your place next to Noel on my right." Marigold swept her hand in the direction of the shaky little girl.

Milo nodded and left her side.

"So there you have it! The tributes of District Twelve this year: Milo Brooks and Noel Scullark! Two fierce competitors, ready to take home the crown!" Marigold smiled to the crowd. "Join us tomorrow on your televisions to watch their arrivals in the Capitol!" Marigold turned to Milo and Noel. "Tributes, please shake hands!"

Milo turned to his small district partner and reached his hand out to her. Hesitantly, she shook his hand as Milo glanced out into the crowd.

Marigold watched from a few feet away and sighed to herself. Two very different tributes. If one was to fail, she could only hope that the other would pull through.

She knew better than any other capitolite that District Twelve needed a win. They would really benefit from that extra year of food.

* * *

Noel waited in the empty room for her grandmother to arrive. Summer had already come to say goodbye, trying to encourage her to keep her head up, but Noel knew she was just sugarcoating the fact that she had been given a death sentence. There was no way out of it.

The door creaked open slowly and Noel's grandmother appeared. "Oh, my dear," the old lady said tiredly as she entered the room.

Noel wiped the tears off her face as her grandmother sat next to her on the wooden bench.

"Oh dear, what are we going to do about this." Gran said softly. She smelled like soap and apple cider vinegar. "How can we make this better?"

"We can't!" More tears rolled down Noel's cheeks. She was a skinny little wimp and would be dead the minute the tube rose into the arena.

"Well not with that attitude." Gran said with sudden spunk. "Victory only comes when you believe in yourself. Perhaps it's time to toughen up."

Noel looked down and shrugged. "I'm not very strong." She mumbled.

"You don't have to be strong on the outside, Noel. It's all about being strong in here." Gran pointed to her head. "If you can outsmart 'em, you can beat 'em!"

Noel took a long moment to think about the advice her grandmother gave her. She would probably be thinking about it for a while. "I'll miss you Gran." Noel sighed sadly as she hugged her grandmother.

"Oh dear, I'll miss you too."

* * *

"You should have let me volunteer for you," Eagle growled as he burst into the room, followed by six other boys.

Milo looked up suddenly. He had just been thinking about all that laid ahead; the train ride, the Capitol... Now that his future had taken a drastic veer in another direction, Milo had a lot of things to think about. He managed to laugh humorlessly. "You already knew I wouldn't let you do that."

Eagle glared at him. "I don't care. You should have let one of us take your place."

"And why in the _world_ would I do that?"

"It's what brothers do." Eagle said evenly. "We look out for each other. It's just the way it is. I can't believe you would toss your life away like that when three of us that would have taken that spot for you in an instant."

"I know, Eagle. I know that. I just... It's not your weight to carry." Milo sighed heavily. "My name was called. I need to take care of this, not you guys."

"But what if you don't come back?" Jasper added. He had been the first one to volunteer for him. "What if-"

"Alright guys," Elias interrupted. "What's done is done. No one can volunteer for anyone anymore. It's Milo, not anyone else. And he can do this."

Milo looked up hopefully at his oldest brother. Elias was never one to mope around. He always had answers. He always had hope.

"Come on man, you've been through the ringer. You know all about beating the odds." Elias reminded him in case he had forgotten. "And even then, so what if 'the odds aren't in your favor.' Fuck the odds! You're a _survivor!_ You could take down every single one of those guys in there." Elias looked around at all of the gang members. "There's not _anyone_ faster than this kid right here. No one as clever and no one as charming. He is a prime example of someone who has a chance at winning."

Suddenly, the door flew open and a peacekeeper appeared.

"That was not three minutes," one of the guys in the back growled.

The peacekeeper narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Well I don't care. Scram kids." He said lowly. "_Now._"

"Alright, alright." Elias broke in. "We're going."

But before he turned away though, he slammed a hand on Milo's back. "Blow 'em all out of the water. Show everyone what happens when you mess with a West End guy." He smirked mischievously at his friend.

Milo smiled in return. "I will, Elias. Thank you for everything."

Elias smiled back at him before turning around and making his way out the door.

Next was Jasper, who wished Milo the best of luck, then Cole, then Brett, and the rest of the boys.

Eagle was last. He wrapped Milo in a tight hug. "You better come back." Eagle said under his breath. "Don't make me regret letting you walk up that stage."

Milo sighed as he broke apart from him. "I'll try as hard as I can. Thanks for being there for me all these years."

"No problem, bud." Eagle said sadly as he turned away.

"Eagle," Milo added as he watched his last brother walk out the door.

Eagle looked back as he passed the doorframe. "Huh?"

"Keep an eye on everything while I'm gone, okay?" Milo asked of him.

A smirk stretched across Eagle's lips as he saluted his friend, then he pointed to his eye. Milo smirked as well. _An eagle's eye view._ That's how Eagle got his name. He had always kept an eye on everyone.

A certain sadness began to weigh heavily on Milo's chest as he watched him leave. The peacekeeper slammed the door shut and he was left in silence once again.

His brothers were in good hands.

He just hoped they would be okay if he ended up not coming back.

* * *

**A/N: and that's a wrap on the reapings! we can finally move into the pre games stuff now! up next is the train rides. i'm so happy there are no more reapings left to do. it seemed like they would never end! the next chapter will bring a new setting and dialogue, so until then! :)**

**and i have some questions for you!**

**1\. so far, who are your favorite tributes? give me a top five.**

**2\. who do you think seems most capable of winning? least capable?**

**3\. now that we've met everyone, who would you like to see become allies? rivals? (important!)**


	14. Train Rides: Part One

**A/N: hello! yes, I have all the train rides done, but I've decided to split them into two chapters. altogether, everything was just over 9,000 words, which was going to be pretty overwhelming for just one chapter!**

**this chapter is districts 1-6.**

**tomorrow i will update with part two, which will be districts 7-12.**

**so yep. i hope you enjoy part one! :)**

* * *

**District One**

The boy strode down the bleak train hallways in long, decisive steps. With a smirk, he brushed his scarlet hair away from his forehead with his fingertips. It was May once again. The games were back.

It had been one year since he had won. One whole year.

As the lone survivor of the Nineteenth Hunger Games, Kramer had been swimming in riches and fame ever since. He was the latest and greatest victor, still a relatively new face in the world of winners. But alas, the time had come once again for a new victor to be crowned. In a few weeks, Kramer would no longer be the new kid on the block. Someone would emerge to take his place.

But in all honestly, no one would ever _really_ take his place. He was a record breaker, with eight kills in the games. That was one third of all the tributes last year! He was a notorious guy around Panem with a bad to the bone reputation.

Everyone knew Kramer's name and he was only seventeen.

As the door at the end of the hallway approached, the light from the other side shined brightly through the gaps. No doubt Dominic had made it there before he did to meet the tributes. Kramer had some things to tend to before he could board the train.

As he came to the end of the hallway, he reached out and twisted the doorknob, opening the next train car. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Well look what the cat dragged in!" Dominic's boisterous, confident voice called out.

Kramer closed the door behind him and looked up. Dominic was on the other side of the room, conversing with the two new tributes. Kramer nodded to him in acknowledgement and let his eyes wander across the room.

Everything was decorated so luxuriously. The walls were covered in blue floral wallpaper and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The chairs and couch were made of tightly quilted, black leather. And on the other side of the cart, next to Dominic, was an ornate table lined with all kinds of delicacies and drinks.

"Man," Kramer breathed. "And this is just the train ride."

Dominic took a swig of champagne. "I know! It's pretty nice, huh?" He nodded in agreement. "Come over and meet the recruits!" He waved Kramer over with an excited smile.

Kramer calmly obliged and walked over to the group of three.

The girl, a tall and svelte platinum blonde, smiled as he approached. "It's great to finally meet you. My name is Siren." She greeted him politely.

Kramer reached out and shook her hand. "Siren. Nice to meet you." He said unemotionally. He always greeted everyone the same way. It was just small talk, definitely not his forte.

Kramer's gaze quickly wandered to the boy, another tall one. He had short black hair and unreadable grey eyes. He also looked slightly uncomfortable. "And you are..." Kramer drawled.

"This is Sid." Dominic nudged the boy who stood further away from him and Siren. "He, uh..." Dominic studied him, trying to find the right word. "He's not much of a talker."

Kramer watched the boy for a long moment before he reached out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you Sid." He said as he shook the older boy's hand, adding a closed lip smile when Sid looked up to meet his gaze.

"So!" Dominic jumped in. "Now that we're all acquainted, let's talk Hunger Games." He rubbed his hands together excitedly, ready to dive right in.

Dominic began talking, and Kramer evaluated the two new tributes silently. Perhaps he was not a social butterfly like his fellow mentor, but he _was_ very good at reading people. He could tell right off the bat that Sid was peculiar. And he had already heard about Siren from a few whispering voices back home.

These two were not the typical District One airheads.

They were definitely going to be an interesting pair.

* * *

**District Two**

Barnabas walked to the train confidently, a smirk growing on his face.

Cameras flashed all around him and the paparazzi called his name so that he would look their way. Barnabas did not spare any of them a glance though. The only thing on his mind right now was boarding that train to get out of District Two and on to the Capitol! It was only about twenty feet away, standing long and sleek on the railroad tracks. He was so pumped to get on the train. It would just take him one step closer to the games.

The doorman greeted him as he entered the train. The cold air conditioning instantly felt nice against his warm skin. The May air outside was _just_ hot enough to make him break out in a sweat and he hated it. Everything in here was cool and chilly; perfect. The door behind him sealed shut and all outside noise was blocked out through the thick steel.

Feeling another presence in the room, Barnabas darted his eyes to the other side of the train to find that weird girl, Nectar, staring right at him. She was sitting in one of the chairs with a refreshment in her hand.

With a scoff, Barnabas addressed her. "Do you have a problem?"

The brown haired girl just smiled deviously as she set her cup of tea down on the coffee table. "No, just scoping out the competition."

Barnabas rolled his brown eyes. "Well get a good look." He replied, turning in a slow circle, before being distracted by the buffet. Nectar snorted as Barnabas walked over to the table and popped a strawberry into his mouth.

"You plan on joining the careers, right?" Nectar asked curiously, watching him knock back a glass of champagne as well.

Barnabas wiped his mouth off with his sleeve. "Of course I do. I'm gonna be the leader." He announced proudly.

Nectar laughed mockingly. "Well that's fine with me. The 'leaders' are usually the first to go when the pack turns on each other."

"Really?" Barnabas turned to face her. It was time to call her out on her little threats. "Challenging me so soon, are you?" He confronted her with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Nectar just smiled slyly. "It's not like we were going to get along anyway." She laughed without apology.

Barnabas watched her with narrowed eyes as he drank another glass of champagne. _This girl is crazy_, he thought to himself. _No one in their right mind has the nerve to disrespect me like that!_

"And do you plan on joining the careers?" Barnabas asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nectar nodded.

"Oh goodie. Well that means we'll be spending _lots_ of time together then." He cautioned her. "So you might want to watch your mouth."

* * *

**District Three**

The train pulled out of the station and the outside world began to zoom past the windows in a blur. Jim quickly noticed that the ride was amazingly smooth and he began to wonder what kind of engine was put into this train. He would need to get his hands on one for his mom's car. She was always telling him how bumpy her ride was. Jim had just assumed it was the transmission that was giving her trouble, but the thought of a bad engine had also crossed his mind from time to time.

He zoned out for a while thinking about his mom's car, but was quickly brought back to reality when he realized that he wouldn't be able to tell his mom the news anytime soon.

Jim sighed sadly and looked back out the window. For a moment there, he had forgotten where he was going. It had slipped his mind that he was being taken thousands of miles away from his home and his family. He was going to a whole new part of the country, a land of artificial sweetness and outrageous plastic surgery. He had only heard about the Capitol. He had never dreamt of actually going there.

Griffin told them that they were in for a once in a lifetime opportunity, one that very few people got to experience. He made the Hunger Games sound like a vacation or something.

Jim tore his gaze away from the ever changing scenery and looked around the train car. It was so large and luxurious with all this expensive furniture and lighting. The display of food looked awesome too.

Jim glanced to the opposite side of the train and laid eyes on his district partner, Genesis. She was sitting in a chair by the other window, watching the passing landscape go by. She had long, dark brown hair that was sleek and pin straight. Her large green eyes were so pretty and Jim recalled how she had walked up to the stage with such steadiness, like she really knew who she was.

His eyes softened. He really _would_ like to talk to her. Maybe talking to someone could ease the tension. He was always looking for ways to make things more bearable.

The ride went on quietly for another minute before he finally broke the silence.

"So, uh, how are you?" Jim asked awkwardly.

Genesis jumped a bit as she pulled herself out of a deep train of thought. Her eyes quickly darted in his direction. She had clearly been thinking about something very intently before he interrupted her. She seemed okay though.

"I'm just fine." Genesis said as she leaned back in her chair, watching him carefully. "How are _you?_"

"Uh, I," Jim looked around slowly. "I'm okay."

Genesis raised an eyebrow at him, not believing that he was 'okay' for a second. She decided to let it slip though. "Alright." She nodded coolly. "That's great." She decided to look out the window again since he was 'okay'.

"I just wondered if you wanted to talk or something." Jim continued on even though she had looked away.

"Yeah," Genesis shrugged. "We can talk. I'm just not looking for allies, so I don't want you to get the wrong impression."

Allies. Jim had not even thought about those yet. In all honesty, he didn't even know if he wanted one. He just wanted a friend. Things were clearly going to be different here than they were at home. It was a different atmosphere. He got a different vibe.

He just hoped he would be able to find _some_ sense of familiarity in this new place.

He wanted to feel at ease again.

* * *

**District Four**

"So... Alliances. What do you think?" Logan, one of the District Four mentors, asked Julius as they sat at the table.

Julius smiled. "I'm joining the careers." He announced confidently.

Logan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "The careers. It's a smart move for someone like you, but a risky one. Did you watch _my_ games? My fellow careers tried to kill me in my sleep."

Julius nodded. "Yeah, I watched it. Killing someone in their sleep is a coward's move though."

"Well that doesn't keep people from doing it."

Julius smirked, remembering Logan's games very well. He was only eleven when he had seen Logan on television, fighting for his life and killing his enemies. Julius remembered every time he left his house, people would be talking about the infamous Logan White. They would all say how strong he was and that he was going to win. There were billboards with his face on it everywhere and all the girls at school swooned over him, swearing they would marry him someday. And when Logan _did _win, there was a huge parade and a district wide celebration all for this one single person.

That was so inspiring for Julius. At the time, he was just a little boy, standing there in awe as District Four erupted into celebration. And that's how it began. At first, volunteering was just a vague dream that crossed his mind from time to time, but soon it became very real. He started to _really_ want it. The fame, the glory, the riches... He wanted everything that came along with being a victor.

"I suggest you start scoping out the other careers when the reapings air in about twenty minutes. You can tell a lot about someone from the kind of first impression they give." Logan advised him.

"What kind of first impression did I give?" Julius asked curiously.

"Arrogant." Logan replied evenly. "Haughty, superior to others, but with the physical strength to back you up."

Julius guffawed after a failed attempt to choke down his laughter. "Damn, well so much for being the underdog." He grinned humorously.

Logan raised his eyebrow as a ghost of a smirk crossed his face.

"Well what about you, Aura?" Logan asked from across the room. He brushed his blonde hair out of his face as the girl looked over the edge of the couch. "What are your plans for the games?"

"Um," her blue eyes were wide and uncertain. "I... I don't know."

"Wha- oh that's right, you were reaped." Logan corrected himself. "Forgive me. Well, are you skilled with any weapons?"

Aura shook her head.

"Well, uh, what about everything else? Do you have _any_ kind of talent that can help you in the arena?"

Aura shrugged. "I can swim. Um, I know how treat wounds. I, uh, I can identify plants." She racked her brains for any skills she had, but was feeling pretty underwhelmed with what she had to offer.

Logan looked slightly disappointed, but did not acknowledge it. "Well, that's a start. That's what the training period is for, right?" He smiled hopefully. "What about alliances?"

Aura lowered her gaze. "I just... I wouldn't know how to approach any of the tributes, and I don't think I would be of any use to the careers-"

"Well that's not true." Julius interrupted her. "The rest of the careers probably don't know anything about plants or healing cuts. And someone always needs to guard the camp. I think you might be of use, don't you think?" He asked. "If that's what you want, of course."

Aura raised her eyebrows in surprise as she stared at the floor. She had not considered the careers as a realistic option at all. It was completely far fetched. She looked up at Julius, who seemed pretty calm about the idea though. "I hadn't really thought of it."

Julius smiled handsomely. "I could get you into the alliance." He replied assuringly.

It would be nice to have someone from home in the career pack, someone he could trust.

Aura seemed genuine enough.

* * *

**District Five**

Scarlet twirled her long blonde hair absently as she watched the train speed through the outskirts of District Five, passing up power plants and factories alike. The train was moving so fast, yet she couldn't hear a thing from inside of it.

As she rubbed her lips together, she felt friction and instinctively pulled out her compact mirror and red lipstick. She slicked on another creamy layer from the tube, then clicked it shut.

Osiris, the escort, had excused himself to handle some business earlier in another train car and left Scarlet and Blue all alone together. They did not speak to each other though. Blue had not said anything more than "hello" and "thank you" since they boarded the train. He sat a few feet opposite of her in another chair and was looking down at his lap.

"You're pretty quiet, huh?" Scarlet broke the silence as she looked at him.

Blue just shrugged and looked up, his arctic blue eyes meeting hers. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Yeah kind of. It's been a rough day." He said softly.

Scarlet nodded once. "You're right, it has been. Sorry about all of this." She tried to be as understanding as she could.

Blue shrugged as he looked out the window. "It's not your fault." He replied quietly.

Scarlet looked at Blue sympathetically. He had such a sad, mellow vibe about him and it just made her want to help him out. When he had walked onto the train earlier, his eyes were red and watery. Scarlet knew he had been crying. They had returned to white since then, but she still felt bad for him. Perhaps she should have been feeling bad for _herself_ because she was in the exact same position, but that wasn't something she wanted to dwell on. Scarlet always tried to be optimistic.

Suddenly, Osiris burst back into the room with a leap of excitement.

"The reapings are about to air! It's time to meet your competitors!" The bright orange escort cried out in joy as he twirled to the television on the wall and pressed the power button.

The screen immediately crackled to life and Cosmo Lavish appeared, an unnaturally large grin plastered onto his face. He wore a glistening white suit encrusted with tiny transparent gems and his hair was powder white as well, which contrasted with his tan skin. He grinned handsomely at the camera before he began his introduction.

"Hello Panem and welcome to an exclusive first screening of the reapings for the Twentieth Annual Hunger Games!" He boomed in a heavy, confident voice. "In a moment, you are about to get a never before seen first look at this year's tributes. This is completely raw, candid footage." He said dramatically, as if he were letting the viewers in on a little secret. "Let's start by taking a visit to our luxury district, District One!"

Sweeping, aerial views of the rich district appeared on the screen and Scarlet watched in awe. She had never seen any of the other districts before. It was so strange, yet so intriguing to see white marble buildings and malls made out of glass. Everything was so chic! She would love to go shopping there.

Then the camera panned in on the town square and the reaping began to play.

"I volunteer!" Called out a lithe, blonde bombshell. She was pretty, _so _unbelievably pretty. She introduced herself as Siren Noria and then the screen cut to footage of the male. He was a tall, handsome boy with black hair and grey eyes. He looked so mysterious and cool. His name was Obsidian.

"Like the gem?" Scarlet asked, looking up at Osiris.

Osiris nodded energetically. "Yes, exactly like the gem. District One is known for their... Hm, expensive taste." He giggled.

Scarlet raised a neatly waxed eyebrow at the escort, then returned her attention to the television.

District Two did not disappoint. The male was a tall, muscular guy with dark brown hair and eyes. Scarlet suddenly felt very intimidated. He could probably break her neck with one hand! He walked up to the stage with a smirk and introduced himself as Barnabas.

Barnabas Salt.

Jeez, even his name was intimidating! Scarlet was relieved when the screen cut to a clip of the girl, but she almost immediately began to feel the same kind of tension again when she got a closer look at her. Sure, the girl was smaller than Barnabas, but she looked... sadistic. She had straight brown hair that fell just above her chest and devious green eyes.

Scarlet wanted to stay as far away from her as possible!

Next up was District Three, which was a lot less frightening than the first two districts. The girl, Genesis, was very calm as she strolled down the aisle. It was a bit unnerving actually. Her eyes were focused ahead and she appeared very secure and unfazed. If she was at all afraid, it was undetectable.

The boy was tall and endearing in a spacey, innocent kind of way. His blue eyes were wide with surprise as he stumbled into the aisle and walked to the stage. As the reaping progressed though, he just began to look confused. Scarlet wanted to giggle at how cute he was, but quickly remembered that he was her competitor now.

_I can't be distracted by boys! _She inwardly reprimanded herself. _I should be strategizing!_

After District Three ended, Cosmo appeared back on the screen and announced that he would resume the reapings after a short break, and then the program went to commercial.

"So far, so good!" Osiris burst out. "I can't wait until they get to District Five! I can't wait to see myself on TV!" He exclaimed as he clasped his hands together.

Scarlet and Blue both just looked at him flatly.

That _would _be the first thing on a capitolite's mind.

* * *

**District Six**

"So do either of you need anything? Snacks? Drinks? Pillows?" Angelica asked in her high pitched Capitol accent.

"No." Joel said in a flat, irritated voice. An hour around this woman and he was already about to rip his hair out.

"Oh." Angelica squeaked, taken aback by the boy's abrasiveness.

Bean just sat on the couch next to Joel awkwardly. She was keeping herself out of this! Joel was a tough guy and the bruises on his knuckles proved it. She did not dare ask where he got them from, but she had an idea. He had probably been in a fight before the reaping.

The commercial break ended and Cosmo appeared back on the screen with a brilliant white smile. "Welcome back, Panem! You are watching the exclusive first screening of the reapings. Where did we leave off? Ah yes, the seaside district!"

The screen cut to a relaxing clip of the blue ocean waves and the fish swimming underneath it, then it went to the reaping.

District Four had the most beautiful location yet. The ceremony was held on a peninsular cliff with an amazing view of the ocean. Tropical tiger lilies and orchids decorated the stage, as well as starfish and seashells.

The boy from District Four was a volunteer. He had a dangerous glint in his eyes and there was a wry smirk on his face that made Bean feel like he knew something sinister. He was intimidation at it's finest. Bean wanted to sink into the couch from fear, but Joel did not mirror her timidity. He just crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as he watched the tall, golden haired boy introduce himself to the crowd.

the girl, Aura, was not intimidating though. She was a seemingly normal girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. Unlike Julius, she was reaped.

"A wildcard!" Angelica burst out, causing Joel to set his jaw in agitation. "Oh heavens! Things just keep getting more interesting as the show goes on!"

Up next was District Five, where a super feminine blonde girl was selected. She was petite and curvy, with large brown eyes and plump red lips. Bean thought she was really pretty. Her name was Scarlet.

The boy, Blue, had icy blonde hair and clear blue eyes. He stumbled into the aisle and tears began to roll down his cheeks as realization set in. _Poor boy, _Bean thought to herself. He looked really taken aback and afraid.

Then came District Six. Their district.

Shots of their familiar hometown were shown onscreen and the bustle of cars, subways, and hovercrafts buzzed in the background. Bean sighed longingly. She never thought the sight of her home could make her so nostalgic. She had just been there this morning!

First, Joel's reaping played out. Bean remembered herself standing in the fourteen year olds pen when his name was called and thinking about how tough he looked! He shoved his way through the crowd and emerged with an angry glare and clenched fists.

And even on television, he looked just as tough as he did in real life.

"The other tributes are probably gonna think you're solid competition when they see this." Bean acknowledged as the reaping continued.

Joel just grunted in response and put his feet up on the coffee table.

Next it was her turn. Bean watched as her name was called out and she made her way to the stage, a very confused look on her face. She did not look as strong as Joel, but she supposed she did not look too weak or helpless either. That was good. It meant she still had a chance to prove herself.

Bean half expected time to stop when her reaping aired, but surely enough, the television carried right on when her moment in the spotlight was over.

It was so strange. She had just appeared on TV!

The frame of the forest and earthy beauty of District Seven appeared on the screen and Bean watched curiously as the cameras zoomed in to the woodsy time square. The escort called out a name and the reaped girl, Opal, shouldered her way out if the crowd swiftly. She was tall, lithe, and had green eyes that were narrowed at the escort. She looked like a tough competitor too! Bean looked up at Joel to catch his reaction, but he was just glaring ahead at the television with an annoyed look in his eyes, just like he had been earlier.

Bean returned her gaze to the television to watch the boy's reaping.

The name was called, and after a moment, the peacekeepers dragged the reaped boy out of the crowd. He was tiny, definitely no older than twelve. He had honey blonde hair and terrified blue eyes.

"Mommy! Mommy help me!" He shrieked, his eyes as big as saucers. "Mommy help!"

Bean felt her heart sink. _Oh, that poor kid! _He was so small, so innocent. He was going to be slaughtered the minute he got in the arena.

But suddenly, something very unusual happened.

"I-I volunteer!" A boy's voice called out.

Silence settled across the crowd as people began to look around. A seemingly pleasant boy with light blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes entered the aisle.

The little reaped boy stopped wailing and everyone watched as the new tribute walked up to the stage with a smile. As the cameras got closer to him, Bean noticed that he had a dreamy look in his eyes.

She wondered who he was.

He introduced himself as Lolium King. What an unusual name. Bean vaguely recalled it being the name of a type of grass.

An unusual name for an unusual boy.

"A volunteer from an outlying district! How exciting!" Angelica squealed as she clasped her jewel encrusted hands together.

Joel let out an impatient sigh and Bean silently hoped that Angelica was done with her outburst because she had a feeling Joel had taken all he could.

"We haven't seen a volunteer from-" She continued.

"Can you _shut the hell up?!_" Joel snapped. He had finally had enough.

Angelica immediately stopped talking. Her artificial purple colored eyes flew wide open. "I- why, Joel!" She looked completely flabbergasted.

"You've been annoying the hell out of me ever since I boarded this train!" He raised his voice, his face heating up. "I'm fed up with this! It hasn't even been three hours and I'm _fed up! _I didn't want to be a part of this?! I don't want _anything _to do with the Hunger Games!" He yelled as a vein protruded from his neck. "It's not a fucking celebration or a game! It's a death sentence and everyone is acting like it's a big holiday!"

Angelica's face was frozen in shock. What could she say to calm him down? "I... Joel, I didn't mean- dear, why don't you take a moment to cool down, I uh, in your room?" She suggested, her voice wavering.

"You know what, I think I will." He replied angrily as he rose from his seat and shouldered past Angelica. "I'd rather be alone than with you walking pieces of plastic from the Capitol anyway."

He stormed out of the room and slammed his chamber doors shut behind him.

Angelica and Bean were left in silence as a commercial played in the background. Bean did not speak and averted her gaze to the floor uncomfortably. It was quiet for a long time before she spoke.

"Sorry." Bean murmured.

Angelica sighed deeply. "It's not an easy job, dear." She admitted. "I know this is difficult for you kids. Being peppy is just part of the role as an escort."

Bean glanced up at the television. The reapings were back on. In District Eight, a nerdy boy with blonde hair and glasses was picked. The girl had icy blue eyes and a dark brown ponytail. She looked very resilient and defiant.

"I know. I understand." Bean said softly as the television carried on to District Nine. "Maybe Joel just needs some time by himself."

"Perhaps." Angelica agreed as she straightened out her pink dress. "Well, we might as well finish watching the reapings."

Bean nodded as she look back at the television.

In Nine, a very small, elf like boy was tossed over the peacekeeper's shoulder and dragged away from what appeared to be his twin brother. They both had curling blonde hair and big brown eyes. The reaped one, Nan, screamed and cried as he was brought to the stage, and his brother howled as well as he was taken back to the twelve year olds section.

Bean sighed sadly. It was quite a scene. The poor boy had been ripped away from his brother so mercilessly and was clearly scared out of his mind.

The girl, Sawyer, was older than Nan, but still pretty skinny. She had tan skin and freckles, probably from working outside a lot. She had sun lightened brown hair and brown eyes.

"What do you think of them?" Bean asked Angelica, looking up curiously.

Angelica sighed. "They _look _weak... But perhaps they can pull something out of the bag and survive in the arena." She suggested hopefully.

District Ten reaped a cute, blond, and athletic boy with large green eyes. He looked extremely shocked as he walked up to the stage. His cheeks grew pink, perhaps out of embarrassment. The girl, Orchid, was delicate, beautiful, and also blonde. She appeared very sad, but it did not take away from her beauty at all. She also came across as very timid.

The television carried right along to District Eleven where a dreamy, unsuspecting girl with long, golden hair was reaped. It wasn't until she spoke though that Bean realized that her voice trembled in fear.

The boy, however, did not appear fearful at all. In fact, he seemed kind of... _mean. _He had light brown skin, close cropped hair, and a dust of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He walked with such unwavering confidence that he came across as arrogant. His name was Preston.

After District Eleven's reaping was over, Cosmo appeared back on the screen. "What a diverse group of tributes we have seen so far! We still have two more left to meet, so let's get to them! ...Right after this break."

Angelica giggled at Cosmo's sense of humor as the show went to another commercial. She clasped her hands together and looked at Bean. "So! What do you think of your competition so far?" She asked with excitement.

Bean took a minute to think before she shrugged her shoulders. "I... I'm not sure. They're all very different... I guess we'll get a better look when we get to the Capitol." She decided.

Angelica nodded as she got up to get a refreshment. "Oh yes, the Capitol! Speaking of which, I can't wait until we get there. It's nothing like you've ever seen before!"

Bean could only imagine. The Capitol seemed so grand and huge from what she had heard.

It was going to be so different from quaint District Six.

* * *

**A/N: hiiiiiiiieeeee !**

** these chapters are so much easier to write because the dialogue between developed characters just flows so smoothly. but dear god these are the _longest_ to write and i can feel them draining the life out me!**

**and i almost forgot, i have the outline for next year's arena all mapped out and it's so freaking cool and detailed. i have absolutely slaaaaaaayed it this time! well, next time, since it's the next story's arena.**

**i'll give you a hint as to what it is- think astrology... the zodiac.**

**and be sure to vote in the poll on my profile! i need as many votes as possible so i can post the results in an upcoming chapter. please don't overlook it!**

**so yeah that's all. thanks for reading and don't forget to review! :D**

**i'll be back tomorrow with part two!**


	15. Train Rides: Part Two

**District Seven**

Lolium sat in a plush blue seat as he watched the world go by from the giant back window of the train. He had excused himself during the television program to be alone for a while. The train had passed up the last lumberyard of District Seven a few minutes ago. He was now in unfamiliar territory.

He was enveloped in the mystery of the unknown though. He had never been out of District Seven. This was what he wanted, right?

He used to think about the Hunger Games a lot, but it was all just a big fantasy, a way to distract himself from his boring life in District Seven. He never expected anything to come from it.

But this was actually real now.

He was still not sure what he had gotten himself into. It kind of just felt like another one of his daydreams at this point, like he could pinch himself and wake up at any moment.

With a sigh, Lolium rested his elbows on the windowsill and cupped his chin in his hands. There was _so _much of the world he would never be able to see if he had stayed in District Seven. He wanted to believe that this was the right choice.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Lolium jumped in surprise as he whipped his head around. "Paprika!" He cried out as he saw the escort. "You scared me."

Paprika smiled softly. "Lolium, dear, I've been searching for you everywhere. Will you come back to watch the last reaping with us? It's almost over." She asked him. "We're about to speak with the mentors."

Lolium deliberated it in his head for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. I'll come back." He smiled as he rose from his seat. He supposed he had gotten enough time to think things over.

Paprika nodded as she lead him out of the room. "Thank you. Your mentor is waiting to meet you." She closed the door behind them.

A few rooms down, Opal sat on a velveteen couch in front of the television as District Twelve's reaping unfolded onscreen. The girl, Noel, was puny; most likely a bloodbath. She was blonde with blue eyes, and she was probably a nice kid too, but the odds weren't in her favor and that was that.

Opal and the District Seven mentors were watching the reapings together. Lolium had decided to skip out early, and Paprika was just now going to find him.

Opal's mentor, Oak, was one of the first winners. He had won The Fourth Hunger Games. She did not know what the arena was or how he even won since she was only one year old at the time, and she lacked the curiously to ask about it. All she knew was that Oak was the strong silent type. He did not speak much, and if you asked him a question, he usually replied with a grunt that meant 'stop asking me questions'.

Perhaps they were a good match though. Opal was thankful that she had a serious mentor. It made her feel like he would really be dedicated to doing his job. Lolium's mentor, Mabel, was a bit more eccentric.

Opal continued to watch the rest of District Twelve's reaping with the two victors. A name was called, and oddly enough, people started volunteering. Yes, multiple_ people_. At first, only one voice rang out, but it was followed by about two or three more.

"Well that's unusual." Mabel said under her breath as she watched the television with interest.

The reaped boy burst out of the crowd and demanded that the ones who tried to volunteer for him get back in their lines_. _Hesitantly, but surely, they all ended up obeying him.

Then, _he_ walked up to the stage to take his original place as tribute. He could have so easily let one of those other boys take his place. He could have given the burden to someone else, but he did not. It showed that he was brave, dependable even.

His name was Milo and he was handsome in a rough way. He looked really durable, like he had a lot of staying power. He had the features that many District Twelve people had. Shaggy black hair, grey eyes, lightly tanned skin... There seemed to be something more to him though. Opal could not identify it at the moment.

The door slid open and Paprika appeared. She entered the room with Lolium, who immediately noticed the mentors. Opal averted her gaze and began to watch her district partner silently as he shook Mabel's hand.

Lolium's wicked laughing eyes contrasted greatly with his serene and beautifully distant face. Opal did not know what to make of him. He was a peculiar boy, but perhaps there would be time to get to know him later.

One thing was for sure though. Lolium was out of the question as far as allies went. He was impulsive and she just couldn't have that.

If she was going to have an ally, they would be loyal and able to hold their own; two things Lolium did not seem capable of.

* * *

**District Eight**

"Hi." Oliver smiled, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence. "How are you?"

His district partner looked at him for a moment, then averted her gaze. "I'm fine." Piper replied casually.

Oliver squinted from under his heavy framed glasses "Really?" He asked.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She glanced back at him.

"Um..." Oliver looked down. He was not sure if she was being serious or sarcastic. Or maybe she was just rude.

Piper sighed and let her eyes wander out the window. "Well to be honest, I've been better... But at least I get to skip out on the last few days of school."

Oliver looked back up. "Oh, so do I!" He nodded.

This was the first time he had spoken to Piper without Delphine in the room. _Thank god I finally have someone to talk to, _he thought in relief. He really did hate the silence.

"You said earlier that you live in the city. What school do you go to?" Piper asked suddenly. She was looking right at him.

"Bordeaux." He replied quickly. "It's uh, pretty far North."

Piper nodded. "I've heard of it. I live on the southwest border in Griffin Bay."

He clicked his teeth. "Yeah, i know where that is too. I've actually versed your school a few times in wrestling meets."

"Oh, you're a wrestler?" Piper's eyes lit up curiously. Who would have thought this little nerd had any strength at all.

Oliver nodded. "Mm hm. I mean, a lot of the older guys usually get chosen to compete over me, but I'm not bad."

She hadn't been able to identify him before, but now that she reflected on it, she _did _begin to recognize this boy's face. He had passed her eyes like a ghost in the years before. She recalled how on occasion, her school would host daytime wrestling meets and sometimes she would lolly gag around the gym before being yelled at by a teacher to go back to class. When she saw him again now, Piper began to realize that he was not a stranger after all. She wondered vaguely how she could have forgotten someone that looked like him. You could probably see his glasses from outer space.

"Are you in any sports at school?" He asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Ha, no." she laughed flatly with a shake of her head.

"How come?"

"I just don't feel like participating in all that stupid school stuff. I go to my classes and that's it. I don't want to stay there any longer than I have to." She shrugged. "Well... I _didn't_ want to stay there any longer than I _had_ to. I guess that's all in past tense now."

"Hm, I guess so." Oliver frowned in realization. He had never thought of it that way. He was not a student anymore, he was a tribute. It made him feel a little sad to know that he was leaving everything he knew behind in District Eight. Today marked the start of a whole new journey. At least he had someone from home with him. He wasn't_ completely _alone here. Piper seemed a lot less intimidating after talking to her, but it wasn't like Oliver had any experience talking to girls in the first place. Girls never did like him. They liked to pick on him, but that was about it.

Piper was not mean like the rest of them were though. She was a bit abrasive at first, sure, but not mean.

It was an unfamiliar encounter for Oliver.

* * *

**District Nine**

Nan hugged his knees to his chest as he watched the last golden field of wheat vanish behind him. District Nine was one of the larger districts, so even at two hundred miles per hour, the train was just now passing it's border.

The sunset cast a warm glow over the fields, illuminating them in the early evening light. Nan's heart swelled with sadness. This would probably be the last time he saw the familiar wheat fields of District Nine. He drank in whatever he could see left of his home before it disappeared completely.

The train entered new territory and Nan looked away. _Don't you cry, don't you cry!_ He yelled at himself internally over and over again. He felt tears well up in his eyes, but he ignored them so hard that they didn't overflow. The uncomfortable lump in his throat remained prominent though.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Valentina, the escort, burst into the room. "Helloooo!" She sang in a sweet voice as she twirled around in circles.

Nan looked up and sighed softly. He did not hate the escort like Sawyer did. She was always in a good mood, and for a quick moment, it made him forget how lonely he was. It was nice to be in a presence like hers.

"Nan, darling, it's time for dinner!" Valentina grinned as she reached her jeweled hand out to him. "Sawyer is already at the table along with your mentor. Let's go eat with them!" She took Nan's small hand in her own and pulled him up from the chair.

Nan did not defy her. Maybe it would be good to have dinner with some other people. It could be just what he needed. He was not used to being alone for very long anyway.

Valentina opened the door to the next train car and gave Nan a nudge to enter. "Come on dear." She invited him in.

The first thing Nan noticed was the aroma. It smelled like the most amazing pork roast with some notes of cinnamon- no, pumpkin! No, perhaps it was berries? Whatever it was, it was great.

He looked around the spacious dining room to see that Sawyer and their mentor, Flax Birman, were sitting at the table with empty placemats. _Hm, where's the food? _Nan supposed that they had been waiting for Valentina and him before they began to eat.

Nan timidly sat down in the nearest seat and avoided making eye contact with them.

"Fantastic!" Valentina smiled cheerfully. "Now that we're all here, we can finally enjoy our dinner!" She picked up a small golden bell from the table and rang it.

_Ding! Ding!_

Valentina took a seat next to Flax, and as if on queue, another door opened and four avoxes entered the room, carrying covered plates and trays of ornate side dishes and desserts. They set the food on the table one by one, and left in a single file line.

When they were gone, Nan took the lid off of his plate and his eyes suddenly grew wide. For a second there, he was half expecting just another bowl of mushy grain. Only it was not. This was biggest meal he had ever seen in his life! Juicy slices of meat laid tenderly on a bed of bitter greens. There was also a scoop of rice and a loaded baked potato, overflowing with cheese and sour cream.

"Woah." He heard Sawyer breathe next to him. "Th-this is mine?" She asked in amazement. She took this words right out of his mouth.

Flax nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. It was always nice to see someone so grateful for a meal.

"Oh man!" Sawyer exclaimed as she began to dig in.

Nan cut a piece of meat with his knife. It was so tender and sliced like butter. He could not remember the last meal he ate that was not grain based. Food back at home consisted primarily of seeds and bread.

He had never gotten any kind of special treatment before and this was very nice.

He just wished Lux was here to experience it with him.

* * *

**District Ten**

"What's up?" Hopper asked coolly as he slid into the chair opposite of Orchid.

Orchid looked up with wide eyes, but relaxed when she saw that it was only him. "I-um... Hi." She stuttered, not sure what to say.

What _could_ she say? This was the worst day of her life. She was probably never going to see her brothers again. She had left everything she knew and held dear back home in Ten. Everything was changing... But she would sound very negative if she said things like that, so she just stuck with a simple 'hi'.

A ghost of a smile tugged on Hopper's mouth. "_Hi_, okay. Well how are you? You were pretty quiet at dinner." He pointed out observantly.

Orchid shifted awkwardly in her chair. "Um I- it's nothing. I'm just a quiet person, I suppose." She shrugged lightly.

Hopper nodded and looked down. "Alright, I understand." He mumbled. "I guess it was silly to ask how you were. It's no secret that you're upset. I'm a bit shaken up myself." He laughed quietly as he looked down at his shoes.

Orchid stared at him thoughtfully while his head was down. He did not need to be worried like she was. People in the Capitol would probably like him a lot. He was friendly, athletic, and from the way he talked at dinner, he had quite the sense of humor as well. He was a cute teenage boy with blonde hair and bright green eyes. The girls would like him. Cosmo would like him. If he turned out to be good with a weapon, the sponsors would like him too.

She, on the other hand, had nothing to fall back on. Perhaps she could camouflage herself in the arena or identify a plant or two, but that was about it. She was a timid girl, never wanting to hurt even a fly. There was no way she could hold her own against a career. If she was to survive, it would be by luck and nothing else.

Every time Orchid thought about the next few weeks, she felt sorrowful and hopeless. Reality told her she would not win.

"I get that you don't want to talk," Hopper said apologetically, bringing her out of her thoughts. "But if you do, I won't be far away." He smiled kindly as he rose from the chair and walked out of the room.

Orchid watched sadly as he disappeared down the hallway and back to his chambers.

Hopper was a nice guy. Of course she did not know him very well, but he seemed genuine.

Only one, if either of them, would come out of this alive. Only one out of _twenty four_ would come out of this alive.

It was nothing short of tragic.

* * *

**District Eleven**

Preston glared at the escort with disgust as he watched him chat away with a mentor on the other side of the room. He hated Blaze. He hated Lolita. He hated everyone. The only person he did not hate in this room was himself.

He hoped that the railroad tracks buckled and this train did eight flips and fell off a bridge into the sea. He could swim. He would be alright.

How dare they reap him! How dare they pick him instead of some worthless little nerd from school. They probably thought it would be funny to throw him into a death match. Well he would show them! He would kill _everyone_ in the arena and see who was laughing then.

Preston boiled with rage as he sat on the couch. It made him even more mad that no one was acknowledging him.

He did not know how much longer he could stand this. History always had a way of repeating itself, and if it was any indication of what was about to happen, everyone had better watch out.

Preston did have a tendency to fly off the handle back at home at the expense of others.

On the other side of the room, by the window, Lolita sighed sadly as she looked out into the night sky. She was not concerned about Preston, Blaze, or her mentor. She wondered how Susanna was doing, if she was looking at the same sky right now.

She braided her long hair absently as she imagined how people would react to her probable death. She hoped that her father would be alright. Susanna was a strong girl, so she could probably carry on. Her mother was dead, so she didn't have to worry about her.

It was a shame that it had to be like that though. Lolita often romanticized things like death, drugs, and heartbreak, but this was different. This time it was really real. She was actually on a train headed to the Capitol at this very moment.

It was not anyone's fault, not even hers. If it was someone's fault, then maybe it could bring a bit of closure to her loved ones, or maybe just a person to direct their pain towards... But there wasn't. All of this bad luck was just a result of chance.

It was just going to be very hard for both her and the people she cared about.

She supposed that she would say a prayer for them before she went to sleep.

* * *

**District Twelve**

Milo kicked his leg through the pair of pajamas that had been laid out on his bed. They were blue and white striped and made out of a flannel material. They were warm and soft. He never had anything like this back at home.

_Home._

He missed his brothers terribly. It had not been that long since he was back in District Twelve. It had been that morning actually. He knew what was ahead though. He knew that he might not ever be coming back.

With a heavy sigh, Milo plopped onto his bed and flung his limbs across the mattress lazily.

_What am I doing here? _He wondered to the universe honestly._ I'm not supposed to be here. Who would have imagined this..._

It was not where he thought his life was headed. He thought he would spend the rest of teen years in the gang, causing trouble, and then go work in the mines during the day to help support himself and his brothers when he was eighteen.

This was a real change in plans.

His district partner, Noel, was a good girl. She was shy and naive, sure, but she wasn't a bad person. She was just a kid! Milo felt bad for her. Little kids should not have been allowed to be reaped, period. They were almost guaranteed to die when the gong rang.

Milo's mind wandered to all the possible arenas for this year. Deserts, power plants, an abandoned school, a haunted house, a forest... It could be anything. If the game makers had the creativity to do a zombie infested amusement park last year, who knew what they would toss him into _this_ year.

He did not know how to get out of this one... He supposed he couldn't. If he wanted to live, the only option was to roll with the punches. He was going to have to go into that arena and fight for his life. If the arena was a cave, then he guessed he was just gonna have to get some TNT and a pick. If it was a winter wonderland, he would have to try not to freeze. There was no time to feel bad for himself or deny anything. He _had_ to pull through no matter what!

He had to get back home.

With that in mind, Milo reached over and turned the lamp on his nightstand off. Laying in the dark, the only thing he could hear was the vague muffle of train tracks from below as the train zoomed on through the night. They would arrive in the Capitol in the morning. With a deep breath, he quieted his thoughts and closed his eyes.

Milo contended himself with the darkness and backnoise before he finally drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**A/N: hi! it's like 2 a.m. and i have nothing better to do, so i guess i'll just update the story. i was gonna wait til later today, but who cares right? oh and i watched mockingjay recently, and i have to say... it was underwhelming. but then again, so was the book. eek! but i also watched insurgent this week too and it was a lot more action packed!**

**so yeah! train rides are officially done. the next chapter will focus on arriving in the capitol/chariot rides.**

**til then! :) **


	16. Arriving in The Capitol

As soon as Barnabas registered being awake, a large grin stretched across his face. He opened his eyes abruptly as he flung the silk covers off of his body.

He quickly noticed the unfamiliar bedroom he laid in.

_Yes, fantastic! _Barnabas thought to himself in satisfaction. Excitement began to pulse through his entire body._ It's real this time!_

His grin only grew wider as he sprung out of bed and began to get ready for the big day ahead. They would be arriving in the Capitol by late morning or early afternoon. This was the first time he had ever been allowed out of District Two. He couldn't wait to get off of the train!

As he brushed his teeth vigorously in the bathroom, he started to think about the competition. During the screening of the reapings yesterday, he had gotten a glimpse of his potential allies. He was impressed with some of them. The boy from Four was tall and strong; and a guy like him could really bring in the sponsors for the career pack. The District One volunteers did not disappoint either. Obsidian looked like a tough competitor, all serious and solemn. Siren was a blonde bombshell. She would be fun to look at.

If there were any other careers, they had slipped his mind.

Barnabas was sure that he came across intimidating to the other tributes as well. Nectar probably looked like the weirdo freak that she was, but _he _knew that he looked good. It was his intention to make an impression. Scaring the competition couldn't hurt him. It could only do him good.

Barnabas showered, dried off, and got dressed. He slipped on a pair of pants and a shirt before checking his reflection in the mirror.

_Man I look good! _He pumped up his ego. Flexing his biceps in the mirror, he turned his face from side to side. He had such awesome bone structure; a strong jawline, chiseled cheekbones, and a masculine nose. His slightly arched eyebrows gave him an almost villainous edge.

He loved it.

Barnabas was exceptionally good looking and he felt powerful and confident. This entire competition was his to win.

With that in mind, he swung the door to his makeshift room open and glided down the hallway to the main train car.

Today was going to be _good!_

* * *

A few hours later, the trains arrived in the Capitol station and Orchid looked out the window. She could see the posters, streamers, and explosions of glitter and confetti coming from all over the city. There were banners with her name on it! Posters with her face in it! People were actually rooting for her. She had just arrived in the capitol and her heart was already about to burst.

_These capitolites don't even know me, _Orchid thought to herself. _I suppose I must have made a good first impression?_

She knew she did nothing of the sort though. Perhaps the capitolites just liked a wide range of tributes.

Soon, the train stopped and the steel doors peeled open. Moving with athletic grace, Hopper strode out the train's door and into the bright sunshine. Orchid followed him, not knowing what to expect.

As they stepped off of the train, reporters were scrambling for the golden opportunity to interview a tribute. These twenty four kids were celebrities, even if twenty three of them would be dead in a month. Suddenly a microphone was jutted in front of Orchid's face. A bright orange Capitol man with huge collagen filled lips squaked into the microphone, "Miss Orchid Raleigh! How does it feel to finally be in the Capitol?"

She faltered. "Um, uh.."

Suddenly a blonde head popped up next to her. "It feels great. We're having the time of our lives." Hopper cut in with his million dollar smile.

Orchid let out a sigh of relief and the crowd went berzerk, screaming for more answers and blowing the tributes colorful kisses. "We've gotta get going. We'll catch up with all of you at the interviews." Hopper waved, nudging Orchid to get going before they started interrogating her again.

Further up the line, Julius sauntered down the red carpet with his head held high and a confident smile on his face. He felt comfortable in the spotlight. He basked in the attention, love, and admiration of these people. Capitol girls screamed his name and held Julius posters over their heads, and paparazzi flashed their cameras repeatedly, trying to get a high definition picture of him. He just smiled and waved as he passed them by.

Julius felt handsome and in demand. He loved hearing the fans scream his name. He loved the flash of the cameras. So far, everything was just as he had imagined it. He brushed his golden bangs back with his fingertips and smiled in satisfaction.

After one more wave, Julius bowed out gracefully and strode into the remake center. The crisp cold air conditioning immediately gave him goosebumps and the air smelled like nail polish remover and fruity shampoo. Looking around, Julius saw that this whole building was very clean, high tech, and clinical.

He could still hear the cheers of the crowd from outside, but the noise was completely sealed out after the last tribute entered the remake center. The electronic doors slid shut and all that was left was the faint hum of music from the prep stations.

Julius raised an eyebrow as he looked around at the other tributes. This was the first time he was in the same room with the rest of the competitors. He felt a jolt of adrenaline spike through him at the realization. A lot of the kids looked like they did onscreen; weak, malnourished, hopeless. To call them 'competition' wouldn't even be accurate. Some looked tougher though, like the boy from Six and the girl from Seven. And then there were his fellow careers, the tributes from One and Two. He turned around to see them when, suddenly, there was a tap on his shoulder.

Julius whipped his head around and his eyes flew open in shock as he was met with the face of an unnatural capitolite.

"Hello Julius. I am Lucretia! I will be your stylist." The woman said in an unusual Capitol accent. She had a tiny, narrow nose and full voluptuous lips that were lacquered in lavender lipgloss. She wore purple contacts and had clusters of silver rhinestones glued around her hairline. Her hair was was fluffy, like lilac cotton candy, and styled into a bouffant bun.

"Uh- hi Lucretia." Julius recovered quickly from the initial shock.

Lucretia smiled and nodded her head to the area behind them. "Come. We are ready for your makeover!" She exclaimed as she turned around. She waved him forward and led him back to one of the stations.

Julius nodded and followed his new stylist back to a station with the number 'Four' on it. He supposed he could scope out the competition later.

Julius didn't think he needed much making over, but he was curious to see what they _could_ do with him. He sat down on one of the metal tables and watched as Lucretia pulled a vial of dull green liquid off of the shelf.

"Let's begin!" Lucretia announced.

Just then, three more Capitol stylists entered the station and the process began.

* * *

The cold fingers of the stylist brushed Siren's neck as they gathered her hair and twisted it into a bun on the top of her head.

"So how are you?" The Capitol woman asked as she secured the bun with a metal clamp, which gave Siren goosebumps.

She cleared her throat gently. "Fine." She replied, hoping that she did not sound as uncomfortable as she felt.

"That's good." The unusual woman's lips slowly peeled into a smile. Her name was Twyla and she wore opaque turquoise lipstick and had long, spidery eyelashes that were red and gold. "Now let's take a look at you." She stepped back and examined Siren's nude body critically.

The first thing Siren wanted to do was shrivel up and cover herself with her arms. It was an instinct that still remained. One would expect that after all of these years in her profession, she would have grown immune to modesty, but she had not. She wanted to cover up as much as the next girl.

Despite her twitching palms, she stood there exposed as the stylist examined her with an eye for detail.

"Hm... We'll lather you up with bubbles and slough you down with exfoliator, wax all body hair below the neck, rinse and dry, then do a moisturizing treatment on the skin." Her stylist announced. "I do use this method on all of my clients for a healthy glow. We'll work on hair and makeup afterwards." She nodded Siren over to the far corner of the room, which had a floor drain and a shower head that was attached to the wall. "Let's start."

Siren silently walked over to the corner. Twyla yanked a bar of transparent blue soap off the shelf and followed her there. With a twist of her hand, she turned on the water and began to hose her down with the shower nozzle.

Siren took a few silent breaths as Twyla placed the cold soap on her back. The water reacted with the soap, and sweet smelling suds bubbled up before being washed down the drain. Siren wished she had the luxury of washing _herself_. Apparently this had to be the stylist's job during the makeover period. There was no privacy in this Remake Center.

Twyla moved the soap further down Siren's body, making her shiver. Then, slowly, she slid the soap down Siren's back, which made her insides swim with ice.

"Don't worry, dear, I've seen it all." Twyla smiled casually, sensing Siren's tension. "I've been a stylist for five years. There are no surprises anymore." She laughed breathlessly. "_Trust_ me."

Siren nodded awkwardly, trying to manage a laugh, but it came out very awkward and fake.

_Only a few more hours, _Siren thought longingly. _A f__ew more hours..._

* * *

The Capitol woman's pale white hand gripped onto the hanger and pulled an outfit off of the rack.

"This is what I've come up with for District Eight's chariot costume this year." The stylist, Mercy, grinned as she held up her custom designed outfit. "In past years, you're all usually just dressed in baggy old potato sacks, but this time I've come up with something more... desirable."

Piper only needed one second to come to a conclusion. She looked at the outfit blankly for a moment, then at her stylist, wondering if the woman was really being serious. "_Absolutely_ not."

"Not what?" The woman asked as she looked down at the outfit she made. Everything looked perfectly fashionable to her. The top was a plaid print bandeau bra and the bottom was a matching pleated mini skirt. It would be paired up with white thigh high socks and Mary Jane style heels, which sat on the table.

"I'm not wearing that." Piper folded her arms stubbornly, a certain finality in her voice. "No way in hell."

Mercy frowned in confusion. "Not wearing it? Wha- what will you wear then?!" She asked in a high pitched squeal. "I've been designing this for months!"

"I'm not going in front of that crowd dressed like some skimpy schoolgirl." Piper retorted with disgust. "Hopefully there's something else in the back because I'm not putting that on."

"Skimpy? Piper, this is _fashion! _It draws the eye. And men love to see a little skin too... It's good! Think of the sponsors!" Mercy cried out desperately.

Sometimes Piper spoke to people so unbelievable that they made her squint. This was one of those times. Piper looked at Mercy like she was insane. "This... is not up for discussion." She replied after a moment of processing everything. "I _will. Not. Wear. It._" She enunciated every single word carefully so that even a bumbling buffoon would be able to understand. "You must have _something_ else."

Mercy looked at her with wide eyes filled with disbelief and rejection. "Well," She drawled sadly. "I do have one back up piece. I really prefer this one, but there's something just a _tiny_ bit more modest in the back room. It's a sleeveless dress. It covers collar to mid thigh... It's the same plaid print though."

"The print wasn't the problem." Piper said flatly as she looked away.

Mercy stood there for a minute, but soon she got the point. She placed the bandeau and mini skirt back on the rack, then she turned on her heel and headed out the door to fetch the other outfit.

When Mercy left, Piper plopped down in one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. _Well that was a trainwreck, _she thought bitterly. Piper knew her stylist was frustrated with her. It was clear to see. Barely three hours in the Capitol and already she wasn't getting along the people here.

She closed her eyes tiredly and rubbed her temples, trying to relieve some of the built up pressure in her head. For the past day, she had been around all these unfamiliar faces without a single break. Oliver was nice, but he was annoying. Of course she never said anything about it to him because he was a good kid and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Perhaps Mercy had meant well too, but she had really caught her at a bad time.

Piper was simply an introvert. She liked to socialize every so often, sure, but her battery ran low quicker than others and she required a lot of time to recharge. After a while, her fuse ran short and it was just a matter of time before she snapped.

Piper was a lone wolf by nature and being around others for too long drained the energy right out of her A real individual; it was just who she was. She had never met anyone quite like herself. She was unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but she hoped it was good.

And after yesterday and this morning, she just wanted to be alone for a while. She needed a chance to get her head on straight again.

It clearly wouldn't be today though. The chariot rides were a huge event in the Capitol. It was where the tributes really got to scope each other out for the first time. There would be no downtime until they were escorted to the Tribute Tower in the evening.

Piper leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh.

It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

As Lolium burst through the backstage doors, he looked around himself in awe. He stood in a huge, vast area behind the Capitol's stadium that was concealed by the stands. It was roofless and the golden afternoon sunlight poured through, bathing the whole place in a happy, warm glow.

The chariots stood proud and tall in numerical order. Seven, which was Lolium and Opal's chariot, was right in the middle of the line. Absently, Lolium began to walk over to their cart. He didn't paid attention to see if Opal had followed him or not.

A breeze drifted by and Lolium caught a whiff of something light and floral. He wondered for a moment what it was before he realized that it was indeed himself. He laughed in realization and carried along. Lolium still had yet to get used to his new scent. He smelled like fancy flowers now. The stylists had scrubbed him clean and powdered him dry, taking away any remnants of his familiar District Seven scent, which smelled like sage and fresh air, like home.

He almost missed the familiarity of his home, but he had _wanted_ to get away from it. It was too late to regret the decision. Whatever he had gotten himself into was going to happen and he would just have to take it all in stride.

His gaze quickly landed of the grandeur of the chariot up close. It was pitch black, white flowers decorating it on the edges. In front of it were two magnificent black horses, who were shinier and more stylish than any animal he had ever seen in his entire life.

Ignoring the chariot's plush seats, he went right to the horses. "Aw man, don't you guys look great! I've never seen such beautiful horses." Lolium stroked their necks with instinctive care. He had always loved animals, but the closest he had ever gotten to such a prestige black stallion was a stray black dog in Seven that always came to his back door for leftover food. These animals were stunning, something out of a dream. "I hope they're taking good care of you here."

Someone snorted from behind him, them began laughing. "Are you _talking_ to the _horses?_" A girl's teasing voice asked. Opal. Of course it was.

Lolium stopped petting the horse mid stroke and turned his head towards Opal, his eyebrows raised. "Uh I- of course not!" It hadn't taken long since meeting her for Opal's teasing nature to come out. Lolium supposed she was just quiet at first because she didn't know if he was crazy or not.

Opal laughed once again, a half smirk crossing her face. "Sure." She said mockingly as she tossed a piece of candy into her mouth. Lolium looked down to see that she had an entire fistful of them in her hand. He just nodded vaguely before going back to the horses again.

Opal was clearly enjoying the amenities of the Capitol for all they were worth while she was here.

Towards the end of the line, Noel made her way to District Twelve's chariot in the very back. She looked around with wide eyes as she clutched her headpiece in her small hands.

Nearly all of the chariots were empty. The only people here so far were the tributes from Seven, who's names she did not know. Noel was relieved that she was only the third person there. If she had arrived last, it would have drawn attention to herself, which was the last thing she wanted.

Her posture remained stiff though as she made her way to the last chariot.

Noel's costume was a draped charcoal grey dress with rough texture. Little clusters of diamonds and a light dust of coal had been applied to her shoulders and arms to emphasize the mining aspect of District Twelve. Her headpiece was a dark jeweled head wrap, but she had taken it off for the time being because it was digging into her scalp.

As she reached her chariot, she climbed inside and plopped onto one of the velveteen seats, shielding herself from the other two tributes.

Soon, more tributes were entering the backstage area. Chariots became occupied, voices began to fill the room, and conversations started overlapping each other. The colorful flash of a costume caught Noel's eye every now and then, but she continued to look down. Hopefully Milo would arrive soon so she wouldn't have to sit here all alone.

A few chariots up the line, Oliver jumped into the one with an Eight printed on it.

"Hey, they changed our costumes." Oliver acknowledged Piper as he saw her already sitting inside their cart.

Piper nodded. Her arms were crossed and her eyes seemed disengaged.

"My stylist said there was some complications." Oliver carried right on, not even noticing her lack of interest. "They premake them, ya know, before we get reaped. I think the original design for mine was with no shirt, but Brock said I was more 'boyish' than he was expecting, so here I am with this instead." He laughed as he tugged on his tight collared shirt.

Piper nodded again and glanced at his costume. "Yeah... I heard there were some complications too." She replied casually before looking away.

Near the very front of the line, Barnabas stood tall and proud, watching tributes enter the room. Their costumes were nice, but his was the best. He had lucked out this year with such a great stylist. His costume resembled what the gladiators wore in ancient times.

He wore bronze armor and a war skirt. His strapped sandals were made of leather and he had a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. The sword, of course, was fake. His stylist didn't trust him around the competition with a real weapon, not at the chariot rides anyway.

Nectar wore a costume similar to his, but hers was styled more femininely, with a golden leaf headband and matching earrings.

From the corner of his eye, Barnabas noticed two figures approaching. He whipped his head in their direction and instantly smiled out of both deviousness and excitement. The two figures were the tributes from Four.

"That's quite a costume you have there." Julius smirked, his piercing green eyes glittering with charm as he made eye contact with Barnabas.

"I could say the same of you." Barnabas replied as Nectar hopped down from the chariot to stand beside him.

"Poseidon and Amphitrite?" Nectar guessed in amusement.

District Four's costumes were meant to resemble some kind of water god and goddess this year. Julius was shirtless, his tan body decorated with patches of fading turquoise scales, which sparkled in the sunlight. Blue streaks had been sprayed into his golden hair and he wore a toga skirt of the same color. Barnabas supposed the skirt was more convenient than a mermaid tail.

Aura wore a flowing white dress that was cinched at the waist by a blue seashell belt. She had the same turquoise scales painted on her shoulders and she wore a starfish hairpiece.

"So, I assume you are interested in the alliance, right?" Julius cut right to the chase, ignoring Nectar, as he leaned against their chariot.

"Of course I am." Barnabas almost snorted at him. What kind of a question was that? Wasn't it obvious that he was already the epitome of a career?

A smile stretched across Julius's handsome face. "Fantastic."

Barnabas grinned as well before noticing the modest girl standing by his side. "And you," he addressed Aura curiously. "You weren't a volunteer, were you... Are you _good_ _e_nough for this alliance?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Aura immediately felt her face heat up. She looked down for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt Barnabas's judgmental gaze burning down upon her.

Suddenly, someone broke the silence. "It looks like we have another member on their way." Nectar nodded her head in the direction of a tribute making their way towards them.

Barnabas took his eyes off of Aura and they landed on a tall, lithe boy with short dark hair and wandering grey eyes. He wore a white body suit with diamond encrusted sleeves. On his back were a pair of amazing white feathered wings. He held a small golden harp in his hand. In his other hand was a halo, but he had clearly taken it off of his head.

A smirk crossed Barnabas's face and he completely forgot about Aura for a moment. "You're Obsidian," Barnabas acknowledged the District One boy as he came within earshot. "Are you here to join our career alliance?"

The boy met his gaze. "You can call me Sid. And yes, I am." He nodded vaguely as he took a place between Nectar and Barnabas. Almost instantly, Sid felt Nectar's cruel eyes land on him. His muscles instinctively tensed up and he knew he was doing it again. _Come on Sid, don't do this! This is your only first impression!_

"Hey angel boy, I'm Julius." The handsome District Four tribute interrupted his thoughts as reached his large hand out to him.

Sid glanced at him. "It's, uh, its Sid." He corrected him, flinching slightly when Julius shook his hand with strength.

"I know," Julius laughed in good nature. "You just have a very distinctive costume I suppose."

Sid looked down at himself. "Oh," he laughed as well, but it sounded forced. "Well if you like that," Sid reached under his sleeve. "You'll love this."

He revealed a small blue button and pressed it. The other careers watched in awe as the wings expanded. The outer feathers stretched apart into a sharper, more defined shape and began to flap a few times. Sid pressed the button again and they reverted back to their original shape.

Julius raised his eyebrows, both impressed and amused. "Well I guess we know whose costume they spent the most time on this year." He laughed.

The newly forming career pack began to converse on other topics, such as what weapons they used and what they had to bring the alliance. Aura just sunk into the background and avoided Barnabas's gaze at all costs.

On the other side of the room, Siren stepped out of the high tech elevator in a chic red bodysuit, encrusted with red glitter and rich rubies. She looked around the roofless area until her eyes landed on the career pack standing next to District Two's chariot.

Sid was already there in his angel costume.

And she was over here in her devil costume.

Siren adjusted the two horns on top of her head and straightened her spiked tail from behind. She took a deep breath and began to walk towards them. The click clack of her red stilettos sounded audibly against the ground.

The group heard her coming and they all turned around one by one. The first was Barnabas. His eyes narrowed in delight and a grin stretched across his face. If Siren wasn't trying to come across as a nice girl, she would have rolled her eyes at this pig. He was the kind of guy that would have catcalled at her back home and made inappropriate jokes about her during class. It all became concrete to her when Barnabas began eyeing her like a piece of meat as she took a place next to Sid.

Sid noticed Barnabas's perversion as well. He did not speak of it, but he could see it on his face. For a strange reason that he could not identify, he felt sort of... _angry_. It was odd because Sid did not know Siren very well. He knew about her from the rumors at home, but he didn't know her as a real person. At least not well enough to feel obligated to defend her...

But that gnawing annoyance was still clear within him, burning more and more as he thought about it. He would have to keep Barnabas in his sight and observe him more carefully later.

"You must be Siren." Julius cut the tension with a handshake. "It looks like we finally have all of our allies together now."

"Actually, I don't know about that. What about her, your district partner." Barnabas resumed the old uncomfortable conversation as he looked at Aura.

Julius took a deep breath before putting his friendly face back on. "She's with us." He said with a smile. "Maybe she doesn't look threatening, but she can swim, treat wounds, throw knives-"

Barnabas laughed, cutting Julius off. "She isn't a volunteer though. How can we possibly know if she's a valuable player if she didn't train and volunteer prior to this?"

"I didn't train in an academy, but-" Aura began.

"Who's to know any of us are any good just because we volunteered?" Julius interrupted.

Barnabas raised an eyebrow. "No one volunteers unless they have a reason. We all volunteered because we think we can win. We don't know what she can or can't do."

"She can _prove_ herself." Julius replied with a sudden defensive edge.

Barnabas looked at him for a long moment with his arms crossed, then at Aura, who had stopped talking. "Okay." He shrugged after a long silence. "Okay. Tomorrow. We'll test her during training. If she's no good, she's out. If she is, then it looks like we'll have a sixth member."

Aura swallowed the forming lump in her throat. Barnabas looked around at his fellow members of the career pack for approval of his decision. Nectar had a smirk on her face and the angel and devil from One said nothing. They were staying out of the disagreement.

"Goodie, so now we're all the best of friends." Barnabas smiled. "It's been a pleasure to meet you all. I'm sure we'll be spending a long time together as a group in the arena. I especially think me and you are going to get along, Julius." He said with a smile that only a fool would trust, but his tone of voice was almost assuring.

"Until the numbers dwindle and it's time to murder each other." Nectar added deviously.

Sid watched in dry amusement as he was sure he saw Barnabas's eye twitch in irritation at Nectar's voice. Sid had been observing everyone silently for the past five minutes and he was calling it now. Barnabas was going to act up somewhere down the line and it would end up with someone dead. He knew it for a fact.

Deep down he knew that this group would not last in the arena.

Not at this rate.

* * *

One chariot behind them, Genesis watched what appeared to be an argument between the career pack. She wanted to smile. Tension between them would mean they would be dysfunctional in the arena, therefore not being able to hunt down the other tributes efficiently.

That was good news for her.

The door opened and the last tribute entered the backstage area, which meant the rides would begin soon. Genesis looked around at the other tributes and continued to scope out the competition.

District Nine was dressed as scarecrows. The little boy, Nan, looked so afraid as he looked across the vast space with wide eyes. He seemed so much younger than the average tribute, so small and elf-like.

Genesis felt very sorry for him and she could not deny it. She was almost certain he would die in the beginning of the games. The kid had bloodbath written all over him.

"Hey, it looks like they're getting ready to begin." Jim unknowingly interrupted Genesis's observation.

Genesis tore her gaze off of Nan and looked at Jim.

"Over there." He said with a nod ahead.

She followed his eyes and they landed on a pair of security guards standing by the entrance to the stadium. They were dressed in black and wore sunglasses. They had not been there before.

Genesis nodded and she began to regard Jim with newfound thought. He daydreamed a lot and was kind of quiet and aloof, but he had a knack for noticing the details in information and holding onto them. He was smart.

Genesis watched one of the security guards say something into the walkie talkie. Soon after, there was a loud voice of introduction on the stadium's speakers, followed by an explosion of applause and cheers.

She straightened out her costume.

Yes, it was time to begin.

* * *

**A/N: my mom told me earlier that i should write a book... little does she know...**

**haha i hope you enjoyed this chapter. i know this was a late update, but homegirl got a job!**

*****and this is the last chance to vote in the poll on my profile page! please vote if you haven't already!*****

**thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**til next time :)**


	17. Chariot Rides

The first chariot disappeared through the backstage curtain and Bean's heart leaped into her throat. The crowd's screams sent a jolt of adrenaline coursing throughout her body. She watched the television as the District One tributes rode into the stadium. The girl was in a devil costume and the boy was in an angel costume. The girl was beautiful and wore red jewels around her ears and throat. They both looked so good. Bean looked down at her own costume and sighed in comparison.

Both her and Joel wore metallic silver bodysuits with a little black train track spiraling up one of their legs and their torso. She wore silver eyeshadow and her face was contoured with black and grey. Joel wore smudged eyeliner on his eyes and looked as tough and fierce as ever.

Up next was District Two, where two careers in gladiator costumes waved to the crowd, pumping them up. Barnabas was one of the only names Bean knew. He scared the hell out of her. She watched on the television as he waved at the crowd with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. She could feel herself beginning to panic.

_Stop Bean! Not now, not right before the chariot rolls out!_

She took a deep breath as District Three slipped through the curtains. Joel stood beside her with steady presence. Bean wondered how he was always so self assured and strong. She could never be like him. She wished she could be, but she was way too skittish and nerve wrecked.

His presence did make her feel a bit better though. At least she wasn't all alone here.

District Four appeared onscreen and another burst of adrenaline surged through her bloodstream. _Two more!_ She watched nervously as the strong guy and the pretty girl from Four passed through the stadium.

Before she knew it, District Five disappeared through the curtain and their chariot rolled up, positioned to be next. _Man, oh man oh man!_ Bean squirmed with nerves and felt her breathing become irregular. She needed to distract herself before she totally panicked.

Her eyes flew to the television where the pair from Five rolled down the aisle. The cameras zoomed in on them both. The girl was really pretty. Blonde, petite, with big brown eyes and full red lips. She smiled and waved to the crowd and the crowd screamed and cheered in response.

The boy could be mistaken for an angel, with such light hair and eyes, but he looked really upset. Bean strangely felt the urge to comfort him. Something inside of him was paining him. She thought she saw a tear roll down his cheek, but she couldn't be sure.

Suddenly _their_ chariot lurched forward and Bean gasped. Whether she was ready or not, it was time for her grand debut.

The chariot passed through the curtains and they found themselves in a dark, narrow tunnel. Bean could not see anything except a small sliver of light close ahead. As they got closer, she realized it was indeed another curtain. The horses carried their chariot forward and the next thing she knew, they were in the stadium.

She could suddenly see everything and her line of vision was huge and vast. Cheers, hoots, and claps bombarded her, along with the wild explosion of color. Neon oranges, yellows, and greens. Glittering reds, blues, and purples. Rainbows, metallics, and pastels. Sequins, feathers, rhinestones, leather... Everything gaudy and glamorous.

The screams of admiration were deafening and the white flashes of the camera were blinding. Bean had never been part of such a huge event. There was so much to see; the endless blue sky and the tiny people dancing underneath it in the stadiums. The ones in the back row were nothing more than little dots.

She could see herself and Joel on a huge screen to their left. She looked absolutely shocked and amazed. Joel was just staring ahead, his dark brown eyes narrowed coldly and his arms crossed.

She noticed that people were throwing roses at their feet. Bean caught the eyes of a few of them and she found herself beginning to wave. The capitolites screamed even louder. Her nerves slowly subsided as a smile crossed her face.

It all went by so fast. Before she knew it, the horses were pulling into a spot next to District Five's chariot and it signaled the end of their grand entrance. She was a mere ten feet away from the blonde boy from Five. He glanced over at her and she smiled his way. She thought she saw a ghost of a smile cross his lips as well, but he looked away soon after.

Bean turned and watched as the pair from Seven rolled into the madness. The boy had the same look of awe on his face as Bean did. He had blonde hair and sparkling, curious blue eyes. He was the only outer district volunteer and Bean often wondered what had prompted him to do such a thing. She supposed she would find out later.

Bean just occupied herself with looking at all the action in the stadium. The capitolites screamed like they were getting murdered by the dozens, but they were actually just enjoying the tribute parade. More chariots came out one by one and the celebration carried on with vigor.

* * *

Hopper breathed a sigh of relief as his chariot pulled into the spot next to District Nine's. He was finally out of the spotlight and the capitolites were now focused on the pair from Eleven.

The boy, Preston, was glaring in what Hopper could only assume was irritation and the girl smiled and waved to the crowd, bouncing on the balls of her feet and blowing kisses. They were on two opposite ends of the universe. Lolita would probably make a lot of friends here in the Capitol. If anyone was going to sponsor Preston it would be out of fear, not love. That kid looked mean.

Hopper yanked the cowboy hat off his head and shook his blonde hair out like a dog. He could not wait to get out of here and head up to the tribute towers. Hopefully he would be able to unwind and relax there. Right now, the waves of applause, screams, and cheers were so loud that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.

Hopper glanced at Orchid, who was standing right next to him. Her long blonde hair was braided into pigtails and she wore a dress with a frilly apron over it. She held a little pail filled with milk, which was beginning to ripple due to her constant trembling.

How fitting these costume were for District Ten. Hopper was a cowboy and Orchid was a milkmaid. The perfect stereotype.

"You alright?" Hopper asked her over the noise of the stadium.

Orchid nodded and looked down.

District Eleven's chariot pulled up next to theirs as the final tributes, the pair from Twelve, appeared from behind the curtain. The girl was wide eyed and afraid, which was just what Hopper had expected from such a tiny girl. He was interested in the boy though. His reaping had perked Hopper's interest and he seemed pretty strong and capable. If he ever decided he wanted an ally, Milo would be the first person he sought out.

_Ally._ It sounded so strange to hear himself think such a thing. Allies had great potential to be dangerous, but the more he repeated the word in his head, the more he found himself thinking about them.

Before he got too distracted by the thought, Hopper folded it away and shoved it into the furthest corner of his mind. Perhaps tonight he could think it all over.

District Twelve pulled up and the Capitol's national anthem ceased. The crowd continued to scream and cheer until a voice rang out from above.

"Silence, silence..." A calm, yet oddly familiar voice came from a microphone. The noise in the stands slowly faded away.

Hopper spun around in the direction of the voice and his eyes landed on no other than President Snow himself. The man was young, no older than thirty, and he stood many feet above the tributes on a balcony with pillars and roses garlands. Hopper drank in the sight of him. He had brown hair and cold blue eyes. His skin was fair and pale, like a sheet of paper. It was so strange to be this close to such a notorious man.

Hopper watched as a cruel smirk slipped across the president's lips before he spoke again. "Thank you," Snow smiled. "Tributes, welcome to the Capitol. We salute your courage and your sacrifice... Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be _ever _in your favor."

Snow receded from his podium after his short speech, but continued to watch the tributes below with a glint in his eyes. Hopper found his own eyes narrowing at the suspicious man. Their great and powerful president seemed very unusual to him. He did not know why, and he could not quite put his finger on it, but President Snow unnerved him.

The chariots began moving again and circled around each other a few times, and Hopper watched the president with interest. At one point, he could have swore he saw the man look at him as well.

Soon, the chariots stopped circling and made their way back down the stadium. The crowd cheered and threw their final roses at their feet before the tributes slipped back behind the curtains and into the privacy of the backstage area.

* * *

Piper jumped out of her chariot and yanked her throat free from the tight collar of her dress. A button snapped from behind her and it was satisfaction to her ears. She cracked her neck and popped her knuckles before her gaze landed on District Eight's prep team, mentor, and escort on the far side of the room.

Oliver hopped down from the cart as well. "Hey, there they are." He said with a light smile as he waved to their entourage excitedly.

Piper glanced back up at them with a raised eyebrow to see a few of them waving back. "Goodie." Piper muttered.

"Come on!" Oliver nudged her as he crossed the gap to go meet them.

Piper sighed deeply before following her district partner across the room. She looked around at the other tributes getting out of their chariots as she walked by. _Good thing we don't have to pass by the careers,_ she thought in relief as she spared them a quick glance. She only caught a glimpse of the handsome guy from Four before looking away. And even from such a distance, she could still hear his heavy, confident laughter from across the room.

"Oh the crowd just _loved_ you two!" Their escort, Delphine, beamed proudly as they approached. Her bubblegum pink lips peeled into a huge grin and she placed her hand over her heart. "But maybe during the interviews you could try to be a bit more likable, Piper." She added lightly.

Piper felt her upper lip begin to curl in annoyance. "Well if I had a waking _second _to myself then perhaps I would be." She replied in a mocking voice.

Their mentor looked away in an attempt to hide his amusement.

Delphine appeared taken aback, but she quickly recovered and focused her attention on Oliver instead. "Uh-well how about you Oliver? Did you have fun?"

Oliver nodded his head rapidly. "Oh yeah. I've never seen so many people in one place before! I can't believe they all came here for us... It was really cool!" He described with childlike exuberance.

Brock nudged Delphine. "It looks like it's time to clear out." He murmured.

Delphine followed his gaze and saw that everyone was starting to file out the back door, one group at a time. "Oh that's not a problem!" She said joyfully. "Team, it looks like it's time to head up to the Tribute Towers!" She announced.

"The Tribute Towers?" Oliver asked curiously, his eyes squinting behind his heavy framed glasses.

Delphine smiled and nodded. "Mmhm! It's where you'll be staying for the next couple of days. Consider it your new home." She waved the group to follow her as she began walking towards the door. "You're going to love it. It's like something right out of a magazine!"

* * *

Marigold smiled as she opened the door to District Twelve's penthouse. "The top floor for the top tributes!" She sang as she twirled inside.

Milo followed her unassumingly, but his eyes immediately lit up as he saw what laid inside. The penthouse was a futuristic, clean, and _expensive_ looking place. Leather couches, fur rugs, marble floors, crystal chandeliers... He could only dream of such things back at home.

"Shit..." Milo said breathlessly.

Marigold looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's pretty nice." She affirmed with a smile.

Noel looked around herself in awe. "And... And we get to live here?" She asked, feeling beside herself.

"For the next few days, yes. Drink it all in children. For a quick moment it will be here and then it will gone." Marigold sighed dreamily. "Why don't you two go clean up before dinner. Your mentor and prep teams will arrive by then. We can all eat together."

Milo nodded as he slipped away down the hallway. _Maybe I should have asked where the shower was first,_ he realized as he started wandering aimlessly.

After opening a few doors with no success, he finally found the bathroom. It was made of white marble and glass and looked like it had never been touched before. It was no exception to the magnificence of the rest of the penthouse.

As Milo entered the bathroom, he caught his reflection on the huge mirror on the wall.

"Oh my god." He laughed under his breath. He didn't even recognize himself at first. His body was splattered with coal dust and glitter, his face was contoured in ash, and he wore black eyeliner, which was smudged around his eyes. "I look crazy." He said to himself as he wiped some of the makeup off with the back of his hand. _I need to wash this off._

He unzipped his costume and let it fall to the floor before stepping inside the shower. There was what appeared to be a control panel with dispensers above it and levers underneath it. There were at least fifty different buttons on the panel. Milo scanned them curiously._ Jet, Stream, Waterfall, Rain, Alternating... Hot, Warm, Cold, Mist, Steam..._

He supposed they were all shower options. Without much consideration he pushed the combination of _Hot Rain_. The ceiling above glowed blue and a few droplets of water formed from the holes above, then just as rainfall, it began to pour heavily upon him.

Milo leaned his head back and let the hot water fall over his face. It felt good to finally relax, even if it was only for a few minutes. The coal dust and glitter began to wash down the drain, turning the water dark grey. More clean water poured down on his head from above and steam filled the shower.

Milo began to scrub the coal dust off of his arms as he glanced at the panel. Scanning the smaller buttons, his eyes fell on the shampoo scents.

_Dragonfruit Oasis, what the hell is that?_ Milo thought in amusement as he pushed the button. Almost instantly, one of the dispensers glowed green and a transparent hot pink liquid began to pour out. Milo gazed at the other scents as he lathered up his hair with the sweet smelling goop. _Lemon, Mint Juleps, Cool Cucumber, Patchouli, Pineapple Party, Orange Blossom... _He smiled fondly at the last one. His brother Jasper loved oranges. They were hard to come by in District Twelve, but every so often he got his hands on one for him.

He wished he could tell Jasper about this. It would blow his mind that they made orange shampoo. Sadness began to creep up on him at the thought of home. He shook his head and snapped himself out of it before nostalgia got the best of him.

_I will t__ell him about this,_ Milo corrected himself. _Because I will __be coming back home._

He continued to scrub himself clean, repeating those words in his head as soon as any doubtful thoughts arose.

_I will be coming back home._

* * *

"You're gonna be overlooked since you're not from a career district, that's just that. Tributes from outer districts are always overlooked unless they do something crazy." Mabel instructed them with wide, serious eyes. "Well... Actually that might not apply to you Lolium since you already have done something crazy." She raised an eyebrow at him.

Lolium just nodded, preoccupied with jiggling his jello around with a spoon. "Okay."

"But here's the plan, me and Oak have discussed this- well more like I gave all the ideas and Oak just grunted in reply. But anyway, during training I want you guys to lay low. Pick up some new skills, make allies if that's what you have in mind, observe the rest of the tributes... Then in the private session, _BAM_, really go all out. _Impress_ the gamemakers. If they think you're useless, they'll make no effort to keep you safe in the arena."

Opal looked up with a confused brow. "Keep us safe? How can they..."

"This whole thing is a big show to them, a big _game_." Mabel interrupted her. "They are more likely to favor tributes who entertain them rather than tributes that bore them. Of course, your survival ultimately comes down to you, but if you're ever on the verge of dying, one little gift from the Capitol can be the difference between life and death." Mabel explained to them.

Opal nodded, looking down. "It's really not going to be easy, is it?" She asked honestly after a minute of silence. "I'm really going to have to fight for my life in there."

Both Mabel and Oak nodded.

"It's going to be hard as hell, for some people it's impossible. You have to be smart. Everyone thinks the Hunger Games are about how strong you are or how far you can throw a spear, but most of the game is about outsmarting your opponent." Mabel pointed to her head. "About ninety percent of your survival depends on what's up here."

Just then, the avoxes entered the room, carrying platters and trays. One by one they set them down, lifted the lids, and left the room in single file.

Lolium looked up from his jiggling jello and let his eyes wander across the table. There was a chicken dressed in orange sauce and herbs in the center, and around it laid many rich, fancy side dishes. Pale berries, a thick cream colored soup, little pies and cakes, oysters, fruit, cheese, and bread...

"One more piece of advice," Mabel said as she pulled off the chicken's leg and ate a chunk right out of it. "Eat _everything_ you can while you're here."

* * *

Scarlet and Blue sat on the couch after dinner, absently watching a rerun of the chariot rides with Cosmo Lavish's commentary. He gave his thoughts on each of the chariots as they rolled out and ranked their costumes from one to ten. The Master of Ceremony's own bright teal wig nearly took up the entire screen.

Scarlet glanced over at her district partner. There was a pale glow on his face and he was looking at the screen, but not really watching it. His eyes were far away, perhaps deep in thought.

For a reason that Scarlet could not understand, she trusted Blue. Maybe it was because he seemed so humble and modest. He did not seem manipulative or bloodthirsty at all. Or maybe it was because Scarlet was just lonely and she needed a friend.

He seemed like he would be a good friend... A good ally.

"Hey Blue," Scarlet said softly as they watched the television program.

Blue averted his gaze from the television. "Y-yeah?" He replied, his clear arctic eyes wide.

Scarlet smiled slightly. "Alright here goes. We've spent a lot of time together in the past day or so, and you seem like a really nice person... I couldn't help but wonder if you'd want to be allies."

Blue blinked, clearly not expecting such an offer. He was quiet for a moment before speaking. "I mean, is that what you want?" He asked her.

Scarlet nodded slowly. "Yeah," she stated. "It would be nice to have a friend in the arena... If you even wanted that, of course. I don't want to drag you into something you don't want to be a part of, but..." She trailed off, hoping for a response.

Blue studied her for a moment quietly, then a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "Alright." He accepted her offer. "Allies, yes. You seem like a nice person as well. I... I'll be your ally."

"Really?" Scarlet looked up at him, her whole body flooding with relief and happiness, thrilled that he hadn't rejected her. "That's great Blue. Oh man, that's really good to hear." She smiled. "I'm glad we don't have to go at this alone anymore."

Blue smiled as well, but kept his mellow composure. "It could give us both a better chance."

Scarlet nodded and smiled, sinking into the plush couch. "Oh I know. Maybe the odds _will_ be ever in our favor, just like the escort says."

Blue laughed quietly and nodded. "Yeah, maybe they will."

Things were starting to look better for Scarlet than they had before. Now that she had an ally, she wasn't going to have to depend all on herself in there anymore.

Blue could really help her out in the arena, and she could really help him.

* * *

Aura pulled the blankets up to her chin and hid her head in the pillows. Her room was dark and the bed was soft and warm, yearning her to just close her eyes and fall asleep. And she wanted to, but gnawing anxiety possessed her to the tip.

_What if I miss the target tomorrow and they laugh at me?_

_What if they don't accept me?_

_What if I humiliate myself?_

_Oh gosh, what have I gotten myself into?_

A million voices danced around her head, taunting her with questions. She rolled around in bed and tried to quiet her conscience down, but it was no use. She could still feel Barnabas's judgmental glare on her and the strength and steadiness of Julius's presence beside her.

And she could even envision the look of disappointment on Julius's face when she was turned down by the rest of the careers tomorrow.

She knew this alliance could be her golden ticket in the arena. Sure, careers were notorious for killing each other when the numbers began to dwindle, but she would be able to see that coming right? She would be able to get out of there before things got ugly. If she went at this alone, she would more than likely be dead within the first week.

She could throw knives, catch food, treat wounds... But she was ridden with anxiety and prone to panicking. That on it's own would be her saboteur.

_I just have to do well tomorrow..._

_I need to get into this alliance._

She rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her hand.

_It's the only way..._

* * *

**A/N: hi everyone! woohoo the chariot rides are done.**

**up next is training day one! i'm adding a lot more pov's in these capitol chapters than i did in the last story, so that's why i split the train rides and chariot rides into multiple chapters.. but yeah! i hoped you enjoyed this and that you leave a review! my favorite part of this whole thing is reading reviews just so you know! entertain me **

**and i'll post the poll results in the next chapter!**

**til then :)**


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